This extract from the book Recorregut per l’arquitectura històrica de Gavà by M. Pérez and D. Sanahuja (published by the Gavà City Council, Barcelona, in 1987) refers to the house of Francisco Ribas Mestres, who was related to my grandfather, Andrés Vidal Folch. Francisco Ribas built Masia Ribas in 1779 in the town of Gavà, on the land called “de la Roca de la Parroquia de Gavà”. It is a clear example of a typical Catalan country house, with con sgraffito on the facade, a characteristic decorative element of the 17th and 18th centuries inspired by baroque motifs.
The house, with its rectangular floor plan and two floors plus an attic, attracts the visitor’s attention with its four-gabled roof and arched veranda. Its walls have witnessed hundreds of stories, some represented in the old photographs that welcome visitors at the entrance to the house. Images from when wine was made here and the land extended beyond the walls of the current property. The history of Masia Ribas has always been linked to the town of Gavà and its land.
The history of Masia Ribas has been passed down through innumerable family stories. Generation after generation, for more than two hundred years, we have loved and respected the house, using it as the setting for our dearest celebrations. For us, it is a unique, authentic place that transmits the warmth of a home that has been lived in and enjoyed by our family.
Elisabet Raventós Vidal