Horta-Guinardó · 36
la Font d'en Fargues
La Font d'en Fargues is a hillside neighbourhood named after a spring that the owners of Can Fargues fitted with a grotto and a kiosk, and laid out for villas from 1912; the farmhouse, built around an eleventh- or twelfth-century tower, is now a municipal music school.[1][2]
Begin at the spring that names the neighbourhood: the grotto, the modernist kiosk and the old water-bottling plant have been restored, and the kiosk reopened on 1 December 2024. Then climb to Can Fargues, where the farmhouse's medieval tower stands inside a music school.[3][4][2]
La Font d'en Fargues spreads south of Horta and north of the Turó de la Rovira. Until 1897 it belonged to the municipality of Sant Andreu de Palomar.[1]
By the early twentieth century a few houses already stood here, but the urbanisation of the Can Fargues lands, approved in 1912, made it a district of villas: in the age of tuberculosis, doctors recommended spells in healthier places away from the city.[1]
la Font d'en Fargues (neighbourhood 36) highlighted. Other neighbourhoods in Horta-Guinardó: el Baix Guinardó, el Guinardó, Can Baró, el Carmel, la Teixonera, Sant Genís dels Agudells.
Where the name comes from
The neighbourhood takes its name from the spring that the owners of Can Fargas, Montserrat de Casanovas and her husband Pere Fargas i Sagristà, fitted out with a grotto and a modernist kiosk, while the water was sold in carboys in Barcelona.[1][2]
The farmhouse, called Pujol in the eighteenth century, was later called Can Fargas, probably because a Can Casanovas already existed: the surname is the husband's, not the owner's. The current official spelling is Fargues.[1][2]
Between the spring that names it and the Torrent d'en Carabassa, south of Horta and north of the Turó de la Rovira.[1]
Before the neighbourhood
Can Fargues, formerly the Mas Pujol, is the oldest core: a Romanesque defensive tower of the eleventh and twelfth centuries, turned into a fortified farmhouse in the thirteenth and protected as a Bé Cultural d'Interès Nacional.[2]
The siege of 1713-1714 left it in ruins; in 1773 Josep Pujol i Pujol bought the house and land and wine became its business. Phylloxera ruined the vineyard, and a first urbanisation project, in 1888, was never carried out.[2]
How the streets were made
The 1912 scheme followed the axis of Passeig de la Font d'en Fargues, already open; in 1915 Carrer de Verdi, later Pedrell, was opened across it. On the hillside villas stood on small plots; lower down, near today's Passeig de Maragall, on larger plots with gardens.[1]
The Cooperativa de Periodistes built chalets for its members, and Casa Giol (1912, by Guillem Busquets), in exposed brick, is one of the first houses on Passeig de Maragall. After the Civil War many large villas became schools and care homes, and some were demolished to build apartments.[1][5]
Dates that changed it
- 11th–12th centuries the defensive tower of Can Fargues is built.[2]
- 1713–1714 the siege of Barcelona leaves the farmhouse in ruins.[2]
- 1773 Josep Pujol i Pujol buys the house and lands.[2]
- 1888 a first urbanisation project for the lands is not carried out.[2]
- 1912 the council approves the urbanisation of the Can Fargues lands.[1]
- 1915 Carrer de Verdi, later Pedrell, is opened.[1]
- 1927 the parish church of Sant Antoni de Pàdua is built after long campaigning by residents.[1][6]
- 1997 Can Fargues is sold to a construction company.[2]
- 2009 the council acquires Can Fargues after a long period of neighbourhood campaigning.[2]
- 2016 the Escola Municipal de Música Can Fargues is inaugurated.[2]
- 1 December 2024 the modernist kiosk at the Font d'en Fargues reopens.[3][4]
Institutions
Escola Municipal de Música Can Fargues
Municipal music school in the Can Fargues farmhouse (Avinguda de Frederic Rahola 2-8), opened in 2016 after the council bought the estate in 2009.[2]
Struggles that left a mark
What can still be seen
Can Fargues
A Romanesque defensive tower of the eleventh and twelfth centuries, rectangular in plan and with fourteenth-century coatings on its outer faces, protected as a Bé Cultural d'Interès Nacional; it is the central body of the farmhouse.[2]
La font, la gruta i el quiosc
The rockery grotto, the modernist kiosk and the old water-bottling plant in Plaça de la Font d'en Fargues, restored and reopened in 2024.[3][4]
Casa Giol
A house of 1912 in exposed brick by Guillem Busquets, at the corner of Passeig de Maragall and Passeig de la Font d'en Fargues.[5]
What disappeared
The vineyard of Can Fargues
From 1773 wine was the business of the Mas Pujol; phylloxera ruined the vineyard and the land was eventually built over.[2]
The neighbourhood today
Font d’en Fargues had 9,845 residents in 2026, 149.8 people per hectare, mean census-section income of €29,694 in 2023, 65.7 hectares, and 11.4% non-Spanish nationality.
Non-Spanish nationality (2026): 11.4%
What is changing
The latest big project is at the spring: the restoration of the kiosk, grotto and bottling plant (750,000 euros) and the re-laying of the square (2.2 million) ended with the kiosk's reopening on 1 December 2024, to be managed by the Granel cooperative. As of October 2026 we found no reports of later works in the square or of a change in the kiosk's management.[3][4]
Read it on foot
Start: Plaça de la Font d'en Fargues (bus 117, V23) · End: Can Fargues (Escola Municipal de Música)[2]
Walking (excluding stop time): 10 min · 780 m · Estimated visit (with stops): 44 min
The geometry follows the pedestrian network between the three marked points, but it has not been verified as step-free. This neighbourhood has steep gradients: check steps, lifts, works and access conditions before setting out. The approach from public transport is not included in the stated distance.
la Font d'en Fargues (neighbourhood 36) highlighted. Other neighbourhoods in Horta-Guinardó: el Baix Guinardó, el Guinardó, Can Baró, el Carmel, la Teixonera, Sant Genís dels Agudells.
Coordinates
Coordinates
Coordinates
Sources for this page
Dates, figures and historical claims are linked to the records used for this page.
- [1] Viquipèdia (2026). La Font d'en Fargues. Accessed: 2026-10-03.
- [2] Ajuntament de Barcelona — Escola Municipal de Música Can Fargues (2016). Patrimoni cultural de la masia de Can Fargues. Accessed: 2026-10-03.
- [3] Betevé (2023-11-30). L'Ajuntament proposa el tancament del quiosc modernista. Accessed: 2026-10-03.
- [4] Betevé (ACN) (2024-12-01). Barcelona reobre el quiosc modernista de la Font d'en Fargues. Accessed: 2026-10-03.
- [5] Betevé (2013-12-05). La Casa Giol, patrimoni modernista del 1912 al passeig de Maragall. Accessed: 2026-10-03.
- [6] Ajuntament de Barcelona — Memòria democràtica (2026). Casal de Barri Comunitari Font d'en Fargues. Accessed: 2026-10-03.
- [7] Ajuntament de Barcelona — Open Data BCN (2026-01-01). Padró municipal d'habitants (pad_mdbas) — població per barri. Accessed: 2026-07-17.
- [8] Ajuntament de Barcelona — Open Data BCN (2021). Densitat de població per barri. Accessed: 2026-07-17.
- [9] Ajuntament de Barcelona — Open Data BCN (2023). Renda disponible de les llars per persona. Seccions censals. Accessed: 2026-07-17.
Last reviewed: 3 October 2026 · 9 sources consulted