Can Roure

Can Roure is a historic masia (traditional Catalan farmhouse) in Vilassar de Dalt, a small town in the Maresme district roughly 30 km north of Barcelona. Standing on Carrer Abat Oliba, the building is listed as a Cultural Asset of Local Interest, making it a notable stop for anyone exploring the area's rural heritage architecture.

What is the history behind Can Roure?

The present building occupies the site of a much older residence, mas Artaguil, first documented in 1360. It began as an allodial holding of the monastery of Sant Marçal del Montseny. In 1365, following an irregular sale by the monastery's prior, the property passed to Pere des Bosc, and the Artaguil family took over the land as free allodial peasant farmers. The name Can Roure emerged from the 16th century onward, when the Roure family settled on the property and gave it the name it still carries today. The current neoclassical structure was built in the second half of the 19th century, rising over the footprint of the earlier mas Artaguil.

What will you see on site?

Can Roure follows a rectangular plan with a ground floor and an upper storey, topped by a gabled roof whose ridge runs parallel to the main façade and is partly concealed behind its crowning cornice. A lower, single-storey annex adjoins the main body of the house. The overall layout and restrained detailing are typical of well-off Maresme farmhouses from the turn of the 19th and 20th centuries — sturdy, functional, and built to last rather than to impress.

The building is not run as a museum with fixed visiting hours; it has served practical purposes over time, including use as a nursery school and residential accommodation. In practice, visitors admire the façade and architecture from the street as part of a walk through the historic core of Vilassar de Dalt.

How do you get to Can Roure?

Vilassar de Dalt sits a few kilometres inland from the Maresme coast and is well connected to Barcelona. By car, the easiest approach is via the C-32 motorway or the N-II road toward the town centre. By public transport, regional trains run to the neighbouring coastal town of Vilassar de Mar, from where a short bus ride or taxi covers the remaining distance to Vilassar de Dalt. Can Roure itself sits on Carrer Abat Oliba, in a quiet historic quarter within easy walking distance of the town's main square.

When is the best time to visit?

Spring and autumn offer the most comfortable temperatures for walking around Vilassar de Dalt and its surrounding hills. Summers can get warm, though the short distance to the coast makes it easy to pair a visit to Can Roure with an afternoon at the beach in Vilassar de Mar.

Frequently asked questions

Can you go inside Can Roure? It is not a museum open to the public on a regular schedule — the building has functional uses, so visits are generally limited to viewing the architecture from outside.

What does the name "Can Roure" mean? "Can" is the common Catalan contraction of "casa d'en" (house of), used before a family name in place names, while "Roure" refers to the family that settled on the property in the 16th century and gave the house its current name.

How does Can Roure relate to the earlier mas Artaguil? Mas Artaguil was the medieval settlement on this site, documented from 1360 and originally tied to the monastery of Sant Marçal del Montseny. The current neoclassical building, raised in the 19th century, replaced that earlier structure while preserving the location and part of its history.

Is Can Roure a protected building? Yes, it is listed as a Bé Cultural d'Interès Local (Cultural Asset of Local Interest), recognising its historical and architectural value to the municipality of Vilassar de Dalt.