Casa de Cultura

The construction of this ‘casa d’indians’ (the indians are Catalan emigrants who set sail for Latin America and returned after making their fortunes) represented a stylistic innovation, as it showcases its owner’s love of Islamic architecture, Jaume Sensat i Sanjuan, who lived in Egypt for two years.

The rebuilding project was designed by the well-known master builder Pere Andreu. The outside of the building concentrates its ornamental richness, where the corner viewpoint-platform is especially remarkable, with cusped arches and a roof of ceramic shards.

Jaume Sensat i Sanjuan was from a seafaring family of and commanded his own ship for a decade, until he moved to Buenos Aires, where he made his fortune as a stockbroker.Married to Rosa Pagès i Orta, he returned to Masnou to remodel the summer home, also known as the Villa Rosa. The couple lived most of the year in a flat in a manor owned by Manuel Malagrida i Fontanet (an indià who earned his fortune producing tobacco in Argentina) on Passeig de Gràcia in Barcelona. 

It is now a municipal facility that works as a House of Culture, with exhibition halls and the Tourist Information Office.