Ca l'Arenys (Valls de Torroella)
At the northeastern end of the municipality of Sant Mateu de Bages, there is the village of Valls de Torroella, born thanks to the initiative of the industrialist and politician Isidre Valls (1858-1933), who, due to disagreements with his uncle, founded the colony in 1901, a few meters from the original family colony of Palà de Torroella.
The colony (which reached its highest splendour in the 70s, with 600 workers) follows the model of the ones populating the neighbouring river Llobregat, where the Valls family had already owned the Vilafruns factory.
Aside from the emblematic Casino and Theatre, an artisanal bakery and other services, industrial activity continues in the buildings of the colony. A peculiar initiative is that of the La Guineu brewery, which occupies part of the Ca l’Arenys building.
