Maresme

Maresme (Catalan pronunciation: [məˈɾɛzmə]) is a comarca (county) in the Barcelona region in Catalonia, located along the Mediterranean coast, between the comarques of Barcelonès (at the Southwest) and Selva (at the Northeast), and also bordering with Vallès Oriental (at the west).

Maresme
Comarca
Coat of arms
Country	Spain
Autonomous community	Catalonia
Province	Barcelona
Region	Àmbit metropolità de Barcelona
Capital	Mataró
Municipalities	List Alella, Arenys de Mar, Arenys de Munt, Argentona, Cabrera de Mar, Cabrils, Caldes d'Estrac, Calella, Canet de Mar, Dosrius, Malgrat de Mar, El Masnou, Mataró, Montgat, Òrrius, Palafolls, Pineda de Mar, Premià de Dalt, Premià de Mar, Sant Andreu de Llavaneres, Sant Cebrià de Vallalta, Sant Iscle de Vallalta, Sant Pol de Mar, Sant Vicenç de Montalt, Santa Susanna, Catalonia, Teià, Tiana, Tordera, Vilassar de Dalt, Vilassar de Mar
Government
• Body	Maresme Comarcal Council
• President	Francesc Alemany (ERC)
Area
• Total	398.6 km2 (153.9 sq mi)
Population  (2014)
• Total	437,919
• Density	1,100/km2 (2,800/sq mi)
Demonyms	maresmenc (m.) maresmenca (f.)
Time zone	UTC+1 (CET)
• Summer (DST)	UTC+2 (CEST)
Largest municipality	Mataró

Montcabrer, comarca of the Maresme

Its capital and largest city is Mataró (pop. 119,035 in 2007).

Geography

Maresme occupies a long and narrow area between the Mediterranean Sea and the hills of Serralada Litoral (Catalonia's coastal mountains), and specifically Montnegre's and Corredor's hills in the northern half and Sant Mateu's hills in the southern half. This particular shape has conditioned both the geography and the history of this comarca. Probably the main distinct elements of its geography are the characteristic rieres (torrents). These short, intermittent streams, which cross the comarca transversally about every hundred meters, produce powerful and dangerous floods when it rains.

Canet des de els Tarongers

Maresme has been historically very well connected with the rest of the comarca as well as with Barcelona by the old Camí Ral (Royal Way) (current N-II main road) and railroad (The Barcelona–Mataró railroad route, finished in 1848, was the first ever in all the Iberian Peninsula). Communications were enhanced in recent years with the construction of the C-32's Barcelona–Mataró section (1969), which was the first autopista (highway) ever in Spain, and its subsequent enlargement, the Mataró-Palafolls's section (1995).

Municipalities

Municipality Population (2014)[1] Area km2[1] Alella 9,651 9.6 Arenys de Mar 15,307 6.8 Arenys de Munt 8,654 21.3 Argentona 11,963 25.4 Cabrera de Mar 4,525 9.0 Cabrils 7,197 7.0 Caldes d'Estrac 2,738 0.9 Calella 18,307 8.0 Canet de Mar 14,123 5.6 Dosrius 5,137 40.7 Malgrat de Mar 18,417 8.8 El Masnou 22,742 3.4 Mataró 124,280 22.5 Montgat 11,315 2.9 Òrrius 690 5.7 Palafolls 9,065 16.6 Pineda de Mar 25,948 10.7 Premià de Dalt 10,311 6.6 Premià de Mar 28,163 2.1 Sant Andreu de Llavaneres 10,590 11.8 Sant Cebrià de Vallalta 3,328 15.7 Sant Iscle de Vallalta 1,304 17.8 Sant Pol de Mar 4,997 7.5 Sant Vicenç de Montalt 6,007 8.0 Santa Susanna 3,293 12.6 Teià 6,141 6.6 Tiana 8,314 8.0 Tordera 16,345 84.1 Vilassar de Dalt 8,882 8.9 Vilassar de Mar 20,185 4.0 • Total: 30 437,919 398.6

Map