Roman villa of Torre Llauder

From the beginning of the 18th century  many objects of the Roman period have been found in the neighbourhood of "Pla d'en Boet". In 1961 the remains of an important noble villa were discovered. The same year, the City council of Mataró purchased the territories of the archaeological site and the first excavations were done. In 1964, because of the importance of the remains, the roman villa of Torre Llauder was declared historical and artistic monument of national interest. In 1980, after a period of systematic excavations, one of the areas was opened to the public and in 1988 the whole area was finally exhibited. 

The roman villa of Torre Llauder is a rural noble house built at the end of the 1st century BC following the agricultural exploitation model of the roman period. Throughout history the villa went through different building stages. From the first stage, the remains of a manufacture  workshop of amphoras has been found. At the beginning of the 1st century BC, the basic structures of the building were built, and they have lasted until today. Between the end of the 2nd century and the beginning of the 3rd century the house was in its moment of maximum splendor and it was enlarged with the construction of new outbuildings. At the end of the 3rd century a period of decadence began and some of the rooms were abandoned. The life of the villa lasted, however, until the late middle ages.

The remains that are still preserved nowadays are those of the noble area of the house: the owners' rooms, a playground and a garden, the baths area and the latrines and drain installations. The residential area consists of a group of rooms located around an atrium through which they had access to the main rooms, decorated with wall paintings, marble panels and tessellated pavement. A corridor communicates this area with an inner playground surrounded by a porch of columns. Some of these rooms were used for agricultural purposes during the decadence. In the west area of the site there are the baths of the house, conisting of cold water baths, warm water baths and hot water baths. In the same area, there are also the communal latrines with its corresponding drain intalation.

Architectural , decorative and sculptural elements of the whole villa have been found, as well as many ceramic and glass objects that can now be found in the Mataró Museum.