El Masnou
Encyclopedia
El Masnou is a town in Catalonia
, Spain
. It is situated on the coast between Montgat
and Premià de Mar
, to the north-east of the city of Barcelona
, in the comarca
(county
) of el Maresme
. The town is both a tourist centre and a (somewhat exclusive) dormitory town for Barcelona.
The main N-II road and a RENFE
railway line run through the town, while a local road links it with the A-19 autopista at
Alella
.
The town center has buildings in a wide range of styles: neoclassical, modernista
, noucentista
and simply eclectic. The municipal museum has collections of archeology and of Catalan ceramics, and there is also a private
museum of pharmacy and medicine. A Roman village called Cal Ros de les Cabres was one of the first settlements located on the site of the current
town.
The agriculture of El Masnou is mainly of flowers, especially carnations, and the industry has a predominance of textile
, with several industries about ceramics, glass and pharmaceutical products.
Famous Catalan Cellist Pau Casals
lived in El Masnou, and current basketball
star Ricky Rubio
is a native. Also, Bruno Grau, a professional footballer who plays for Valencia C.F., was born in El Masnou.
Other famous people who were born in El Masnou are:
Catalonia
Catalonia is an autonomous community in northeastern Spain, with the official status of a "nationality" of Spain. Catalonia comprises four provinces: Barcelona, Girona, Lleida, and Tarragona. Its capital and largest city is Barcelona. Catalonia covers an area of 32,114 km² and has an...
, Spain
Spain
Spain , officially the Kingdom of Spain languages]] under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages. In each of these, Spain's official name is as follows:;;;;;;), is a country and member state of the European Union located in southwestern Europe on the Iberian Peninsula...
. It is situated on the coast between Montgat
Montgat
Montgat is a municipality in the comarca of the Maresme inCatalonia, Spain. It is situated on the coast between Badalona and El Masnou, to the north-east of...
and Premià de Mar
Premià de Mar
Premià de Mar is a municipality in the comarca of the Maresme in Catalonia, Spain. It is situated on the coast between El Masnou and Vilassar de Mar, to the north-east of Barcelona...
, to the north-east of the city of Barcelona
Barcelona
Barcelona is the second largest city in Spain after Madrid, and the capital of Catalonia, with a population of 1,621,537 within its administrative limits on a land area of...
, in the comarca
Comarques of Catalonia
This is a list of the comarques of Catalonia . A comarca is roughly equivalent to a US "county" or a UK "district". However, in the context of Catalonia, the term "county" can be a bit misleading, because in medieval Catalonia, the most important rulers were counts, notably the Counts of Barcelona...
(county
County
A county is a jurisdiction of local government in certain modern nations. Historically in mainland Europe, the original French term, comté, and its equivalents in other languages denoted a jurisdiction under the sovereignty of a count A county is a jurisdiction of local government in certain...
) of el Maresme
Maresme
Maresme is a comarca located along the Catalan Mediterranean coast in Spain, between the comarques of Barcelonès and Selva , and also bordering with Vallès Oriental ....
. The town is both a tourist centre and a (somewhat exclusive) dormitory town for Barcelona.
The main N-II road and a RENFE
RENFE
Renfe Operadora is the state-owned company which operates freight and passenger trains on the 1668-mm "Iberian gauge" and 1435-mm "European gauge" networks of the Spanish national railway infrastructure company ADIF .- History :The name RENFE is derived from that of the former Spanish National...
railway line run through the town, while a local road links it with the A-19 autopista at
Alella
Alella
Alella is a village in the comarca of Maresme inCatalunya, Spain. It is situated on the south-west side of the granite Litoral range, just by the sea. The town is known for...
.
The town center has buildings in a wide range of styles: neoclassical, modernista
Modernisme
Modernisme was a cultural movement associated with the search for Catalan national identity. It is often understood as an equivalent to a number of fin-de-siècle art movements, such as Art Nouveau, Jugendstil, Secessionism, and Liberty style, and was active from roughly 1888 to 1911 Modernisme ...
, noucentista
Noucentisme
Noucentisme was a Catalan cultural movement of the early 20th century that originated largely as a reaction against Modernisme, both in art and ideology, and was, simultaneously, a perception of art almost opposite to that of avantgardists...
and simply eclectic. The municipal museum has collections of archeology and of Catalan ceramics, and there is also a private
museum of pharmacy and medicine. A Roman village called Cal Ros de les Cabres was one of the first settlements located on the site of the current
town.
The agriculture of El Masnou is mainly of flowers, especially carnations, and the industry has a predominance of textile
Textile
A textile or cloth is a flexible woven material consisting of a network of natural or artificial fibres often referred to as thread or yarn. Yarn is produced by spinning raw fibres of wool, flax, cotton, or other material to produce long strands...
, with several industries about ceramics, glass and pharmaceutical products.
Famous Catalan Cellist Pau Casals
Pablo Casals
Pau Casals i Defilló , known during his professional career as Pablo Casals, was a Spanish Catalan cellist and conductor. He is generally regarded as the pre-eminent cellist of the first half of the 20th century, and one of the greatest cellists of all time...
lived in El Masnou, and current basketball
Basketball
Basketball is a team sport in which two teams of five players try to score points by throwing or "shooting" a ball through the top of a basketball hoop while following a set of rules...
star Ricky Rubio
Ricky Rubio
Ricard "Ricky" Rubio Vives is a Spanish professional basketball player for the Minnesota Timberwolves of the National Basketball Association . Rubio became the youngest player ever to play in the Spanish ACB League on October 15, 2005, at age 14...
is a native. Also, Bruno Grau, a professional footballer who plays for Valencia C.F., was born in El Masnou.
Other famous people who were born in El Masnou are:
- Antoni Llampallas Alsina (1855-1923) AttorneyLawyerA lawyer, according to Black's Law Dictionary, is "a person learned in the law; as an attorney, counsel or solicitor; a person who is practicing law." Law is the system of rules of conduct established by the sovereign government of a society to correct wrongs, maintain the stability of political...
and delegate to the Union Catalanista in the House of Manresa (1892). - Fèlix Oliver (Masnou, 1856 - Montevideo (Uruguay), 1932), a pioneer of cinema in Uruguay.
- Jordi Pagans i MonsalvatjeJordi Pagans i Monsalvatje-Artistic Tradition:Jordi Pagans i Monsalvatje was born in El Masnou , April 18, 1932. Son of Alfred Pagans i Llauró and Clara Monsalvatje i Iglèsias, both coming from families of a long and rich artistic tradition which included members such as the guitar player and singer Llorenç Pagans i Julià ,...
(1932): One of the most important Catalan contemporary figurative painters. Cousin of the renowned classical music composer Xavier Montsalvatge i BassolsXavier MontsalvatgeXavier Montsalvatge i Bassols was a Spanish Catalan composer and music critic. He was one of the most influential music figures in Catalan music during the latter half of the 20th century.-Life:...
. In his paintings you can see clearly the influence of the Empordà coast, especially the people of CadaquésCadaquésCadaqués is a town in the Alt Empordà comarca, in the province of Girona, Catalonia, Spain. It is on a bay in the middle of the Cap de Creus peninsula, near Cap de Creus cape, on the Costa Brava of the Mediterranean...
. - Lluís Millet i Pagès (1867-1941): musician, founder of the Catalan choir.