What happened in Mataró since the era of the flamboyant city of Iluro? This is what the Mataró Museum explains at its headquarters. Their objective is to safeguard and spread the archaeological, natural and movable heritage linked to the capital of the county of El Maresme.

Its headquarters are in Can Serra, the old manor of Jeroni Serra Arnau, built in 1565 and with a Renaissance style. On the inside, you can see a permanent exhibit that runs a path from Iluro to now, through Medieval times and modernity. It is worth it to stop at two significant pieces from the city’s Roman past: the sculpture of Venus d’Iluro and the Portrait of Faustina Minor.

While going through the museum, you can see a small part of the foundation accompanied by models and audiovisual material. The museum’s collections are very diverse: archaeological materials, natural specimens, historical objects and a pictorial art collection including a series of engravings by Goya.

One of the extensions of the museum is the Archaeological Enclosure of Llauder Tower, a site with the remains of a Roman villa from the end of the 1st century B.C. Another one of their headquarters corresponds to another time of splendour for the city. It is the small nave of Can Marfà, a symbol of the industrial past of Mataró. It hosts a permanent exhibit which shows more than a century of objects connected with the industry of knitting, one of the most important collections in Europe in this speciality.

Also part of the Mataró Museum is the Ca l’Arenas art centre. It was born from the legacy of the artist Jordi Arenas Clavell in his native city and it especially focuses on local artistic activity.