Casa de Pere Maristany

Casa de Pere Maristany, in El Masnou, is an early-20th-century Modernista townhouse on Carrer de Jaume I that still carries the name of the man who commissioned it.

Where is Casa de Pere Maristany located?

The house stands at number 13, Carrer de Jaume I, in the older part of El Masnou, a coastal town in the Maresme comarca on the Barcelona coastline, a short distance northeast of the Catalan capital. The street sits within the town's historic bourgeois quarter, built up in the late 19th and early 20th centuries as El Masnou grew wealthy on maritime trade and on money brought back by "indianos" - locals who returned from the Americas and reinvested their fortunes in new houses along the seafront.

Who designed the house, and when was it built?

The building was designed by architect Bonaventura Bassegoda i Amigó, active during the peak years of Catalan Modernisme. Construction was completed in 1903, commissioned by Pere Maristany i Pagès, whose name the house has kept ever since. Naming a private residence after its owner rather than its function was standard practice among the bourgeois families building along the Maresme coast at the time.

What does the building's architecture look like?

Casa de Pere Maristany is laid out over a ground floor and two upper storeys. The façade is marked by a continuous balcony running the full width of the main floor, plus a gallery of windows on the top storey - a combination that served both decorative and practical purposes, since galleries of this kind helped light and ventilate the rooms behind them. Stylistically the house belongs to Catalan Modernisme's 1888-1910 period, though in a more restrained, eclectic register than the movement's most ornate Barcelona landmarks: there is no sculptural excess here, just a careful rhythm of window and balcony openings across a well-proportioned front.

Is the building legally protected?

Yes. Casa de Pere Maristany is listed as a Bé Cultural d'Interès Local (an asset of local cultural interest), catalogue number 08118-122, as part of the Map of Cultural Heritage of El Masnou maintained by the Barcelona Provincial Council (Diputació de Barcelona). The listing protects it as part of the town's architectural heritage, alongside a handful of other Modernista houses scattered through El Masnou.

How can visitors see the house?

Since Casa de Pere Maristany is a private residential building, visiting in practice means viewing the façade from the street. It fits naturally into a short walk through El Masnou's town centre tracing its Modernista architecture - the town has several comparable houses from the same period within easy walking distance of one another, close to the seafront promenade and the port.

Frequently Asked Questions

Can visitors go inside Casa de Pere Maristany? No - it is a private home, so only the street-facing façade can be seen.

Where does the building's name come from? From its first owner, Pere Maristany i Pagès, who commissioned the house in 1903.

What architectural style does the building represent? Catalan Modernisme, in a more eclectic and restrained version than the movement's best-known, heavily ornamented buildings.

Who was the architect? Bonaventura Bassegoda i Amigó, who designed the house as completed in 1903.