Mataró dates back to Roman times when it was a village known as "Iluro" or "Illuro". The ruins of a first-century BC Roman bath house were recently discovered and can be visited. The coastal follows the same path as the original Roman road, Via Augusta. Mataró was declared a city by royal decree, even though at the time the population fell short of the requirement for city status. The first railway in peninsular Spain was the Mataró – Barcelona line which opened on 28 October 1848 by the Catalan businessman and Mataró native Miquel Biada. This line now forms part of the RENFE/Rodalies de Catalunya R1 suburban service between L'Hospitalet de Llobregat and Maçanet-Massanes. Mataró is also connected with Barcelona and Girona by the and with Granollers by the. During the 1992 Summer Olympics in Barcelona, Mataró was the starting point for the marathon events.
Main sights
Mataró is the birthplace of noucentistaarchitectJosep Puig i Cadafalch, who designed the ajuntament and several other notable buildings in the town:
The traditional vineyards were devastated by Phylloxera in the nineteenth century and only partially replanted, due to the growth of the tourist industry and the development of irrigation in the area. Potatoes were one of the first replacement crops to be introduced, especially the Royal Kidney variety, and Mataró obtained a Denominació d'Origen in 1932. Trocaderolettuce and peas are also grown, mostly for export. The production of cut flowers is less important than in other towns of the Maresme. Irrigated land made up of the of agricultural land in the municipality in 1986.
Several major events are celebrated annually in Mataró. Some of them are also celebrated in the rest of Catalonia and others, which have a religious origin, are part of the folklore and traditions of Spain and some other countries. Among all of them the most popular ones are:
The caga Tió: celebrated in Catalonia on Christmas’ Eve, 24 December.
Mataró also celebrates several fairs such as:Tres Tombs and Saint Ponç In May it is celebrated a fair called Mercat de Sant Ponç. At the fair handicraft products, medicinal herbs, natural products like: honey, cheese, fruits, flowers, jam and salami are sold. Sant Ponç is the patron saint of the herbalists and bee keepers. The fair has been done for centuries. Its origins date to the 16th century, when in Spring herbalists took medicine to the sick. Today Sant Ponç fair is celebrated to preserve the antique customs.
