Casa Mauri and the Molí de l'Oli, the modernisme of La Pobla

On Avinguda de Verdaguer, in the very centre of La Pobla de Segur, an oil mill that looks like a church and a house with a castle tower form La Pobla de Segur's modernista ensemble. The Molí de l'Oli de Sant Josep dates from 1905 and the Casa Mauri from 1907; both are part of the Mauri family estate, and the house is today the town hall.

An electric mill that looks Romanesque

The mill was the first in the region to run on electricity, a big technical change for the area. From outside it is deceptive: gabled roof and the façade of a Romanesque church, with modernista details spread over doors, windows and finials. At the entrance there is a sculpture by Josep Llimona, one of the leading sculptors of Catalan modernisme. The tourist office presents it as an example of industrial modernisme.

Mr Mauri's house

Next door, the Casa Mauri has a tower that looks like a fortress, ceramic trencadís and highly worked wrought-iron grilles on the windows. It is surrounded by historic gardens with ornamental sculptures. There are three buildings in all, and the tourist office compares their details with those of the Palau de la Música or the Hospital de Sant Pau in Barcelona: on a smaller scale, the same period and the same taste for craftsmanship.

Seeing it from outside, or with Rafel, the chauffeur

From the street you can see it at any time and for free: the façade, the tower, the mill and the gardens fit into a half-hour walk. To go inside you must go with the tourist office. In summer it programmes a theatrical night visit: every Saturday in August at 20:00, Rafel, the chauffeur of Mr Ramon Mauri, takes the group back to 1924 and tells why this style was chosen and where the family's fortune came from. It starts in front of the Molí de l'Oli, places are limited and you must book; the price is not published on the website. Groups of more than ten people can ask for a visit outside that calendar.

From the station and what time

The tourist office is on Plaça del Ferrocarril, in the old station; from there you walk in about five minutes. It opens Monday to Saturday from 9:00 to 14:30 and on Sunday mornings; in the afternoon, from 16:00 to 18:00, every working day in summer and Thursday to Saturday the rest of the year. If you arrive on the Tren dels Llacs, the walk fits easily between the 12:35 arrival and lunch at El Raier, which is a few streets away. To understand the village's other trade, that of the raft men, cross to the Espai Raier, opposite the station.