Mataró (Catalan pronunciation:[mətəˈɾo]) is the capital and largest town of theMaresme county inCatalonia, Spain. It is located on theMaresme coast, to the south ofCosta Brava, betweenCabrera de Mar andSant Andreu de Llavaneres, 30 kilometres (19 miles) north-east ofBarcelona. As of 2021^[update], it had a population of 129,749.

Mataró
Municipality
Port of Mataró
Flag Coat of arms
Location of Mataró
Location in Maresme county
Mataró Show map of Catalonia Mataró Show map of Spain
Coordinates:41°32′N2°27′E / 41.533°N 2.450°E /41.533; 2.450
Country	Spain
Autonomous Community	Catalonia
Region	Barcelona
County	Maresme
Province	Barcelona
Government
• Mayor	David Boté Paz (2015)[1][2] (PSC)
Area [3]
• Total	22.5 km2 (8.7 sq mi)
Elevation	28 m (92 ft)
Population  (2018)[4]
• Total	126,988
• Density	5,600/km2 (15,000/sq mi)
Demonym	Mataroní
Website	mataro.cat

Mataró dates back toRoman times when it was a village known as "Iluro" or "Illuro". The ruins of a first-century BC Romanbath house (known locally as theTorre Llauder) were recently discovered and can be visited. The coastalN-II highway follows the same path as the original Roman road,Via Augusta.

Mataró was declared a city by royal decree, even though at the time (nineteenth century) the population fell short of the requirement for city status.

The firstrailway inpeninsular Spain was the Mataró –Barcelona line which opened on 28 October 1848 by theCatalan businessman and Mataró nativeMiquel Biada. This line now forms part of theRenfe/Rodalies de CatalunyaR1 suburban service betweenL'Hospitalet de Llobregat andMaçanet-Massanes. Mataró is also connected with Barcelona andGirona by theC-32autopista (freeway) and withGranollers by theC-60autopista.

During the1992 Summer Olympics in Barcelona, Mataró was the starting point for themarathon events.^[5]

Mataró is the birthplace of thenoucentistaarchitectJosep Puig i Cadafalch, who designed theajuntament (town hall) and several other notable buildings in the town:

• Casa Coll i Regàs.
• Casa Parera.
• Casa Sisternes.
• El Rengle.
• Hermitage of St. Simon.
• La Beneficiència.
• Mataró City Wall. (was built between 1569 and 1600 and was designed by the military engineer Jorge de Setara. This wall is supposed to follow, to a large extent, the line of the old Roman wall. It was built with small stones bound with lime mortar. The Mataró City Wall had seven large gates, as well as attached towers that gave it greater defence. During the 19th century, many sections of the old Mataró City Wall were demolished.)

Nearby the town are the archaeological remains of theRoman villa of Can Llauder.

The traditionalvineyards were devastated byPhylloxera in the nineteenth century and only partially replanted, due to the growth of the tourist industry and the development ofirrigation in the area.Potatoes were one of the first replacement crops to be introduced, especially theRoyal Kidney variety, and Mataró obtained aDenominació d'Origen in 1932.^[6]Trocaderolettuce andpeas are also grown, mostly for export. The production of cut flowers is less important than in other towns of theMaresme. Irrigated land made up 9.13 square kilometres (3.53 sq mi) of the 10.57 square kilometres (4.08 sq mi) of agricultural land in the municipality in 1986 (47% of the municipal territory).

In modernviticulture, the redmourvèdre grape variety is a better-known synonym for the grape known in Spain, the U.S., and Australia as mataro. Mataró, the city, is thought to be the likely origin of mataro, the wine grape.

Mataró has a borderlinehumid subtropical climate (Cfa inKöppen climate classification) bordering with aHot-summer mediterranean climate, (KöppenCsa).

Several major events are celebrated annually in Mataró. Some of them are also celebrated in the rest ofCatalonia and others, which have a religious origin, are part of thefolklore andtraditions ofSpain and some other countries. Among all of them the most popular ones are:

• The three wise men in Mataró.
• Carnival in Mataró: celebrated immediately before Lent.
• Easter in Mataró: celebrated every year during one week on a movable date from the end of March to the very beginning of May
• Saint George in Mataró: celebrated on 23 April. It is a big celebration although it is not a bank holiday.
• St. John the Baptist in Mataró: celebrated on 24 June
• Les Santes: local festivity of the city celebrated at the end of July. It involves the recognition ofSaint Juliana and Saint Semproniana.
• The cagaTió: celebrated in Catalonia on Christmas' Eve, 24 December.
• Mataró also celebrates several fairs such as:Tres Tombs andSaint 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.
• Festival "Cultural Crossroad".
• International Dance Festival "Days of Dance".

•  Cehegín, Spain
•  Dürnau, Germany
•  Gammelshausen, Germany
•  Créteil, France
•  Corsico, Italy
•  Fort Lauderdale, United States

• Adoración Apolo (born 1979), footballer
• Miguel Biada (1789–1848), sea merchant and promoter of first Spanish train connection (Mataró-Barcelona)
• Peret (1935–2014), musician
• Josep Puig i Cadafalch (1867–1956), CatalanModernistaarchitect
• Nacho Vidal (born 1973), pornographer
• Lamine Yamal (born 2007), footballer

• Mataró Museum
• Roman villa of Can Llauder
• Can Marfà Knitwear Museum

• Panareda Clopés, Josep Maria; Rios Calvet, Jaume; Rabella Vives, Josep Maria (1989).Guia de Catalunya, Barcelona: Caixa de Catalunya.ISBN 84-87135-01-3 (Spanish).ISBN 84-87135-02-1 (Catalan).

• Official website
• Government data pages(in Catalan)