We are from Vilassar.

In 1936, my grandparents, Maria i Josep, arrived in Vilassar de Mar with their three small children, fleeing a Barcelona that was then in turmoil. They settled in the house at Camí Ral, 8, the very place where, for the past ten years, Viure a Vilassar has had its home.

Once the war was over, my grandparents remained faithful to their summers in Vilassar, year after year; this is also where they chose to spend the last years of their lives.

In 1962, a decision by my parents changed everything: they decided that Vilassar was the best possible place to start a new family. And here, in this very house, the four siblings took our first steps.

We were lucky to grow up in a quiet, safe and close-knit town, in touch with the sea and the beach, in a setting that defined a way of living and of relating to one another.

Today I have the privilege of living in Vilassar with my wife, Anna, and our two children. And also of working here, in daily contact with the life and reality of this town we love so much.

Vilassar has grown and become a small city, but it has managed to keep much of its charm and that way of life many of us remember from when we were children.

Perhaps that is what makes Vilassar special: having grown without entirely losing that village essence. A small city that keeps an unusual balance between its people, its land and its way of life.

We live close to the sea and the beach, with the mountains within reach, good services, local shops and a community life that keeps the spirit of the town alive.

Both the families who have arrived in Vilassar in recent years and those of us who arrived long ago know the privilege of living close to Barcelona while, at the same time, enjoying a quieter, closer life connected to the land.

Viure a Vilassar is born precisely from this: from the love for this place, from the knowledge that comes from having always lived here, and from the will to help those who have decided that Vilassar is the place where they want to build their lives.

Because here many have found it all without having to give up anything.

Jordi Petit Figuerola