Castle of Santa Florentina
Historic siteThe castle is genuinely medieval and also, in large part, a construction of around 1900 — assembled by Lluís Domènech i Montaner out of architectural fragments from different periods and different places, paid for with money made in publishing. The result confuses people, which is the point: it was designed to look like an inheritance rather than a purchase.
From Roman villa to fortified house
The site starts as a Roman villa; on its foundations Guadimir de Canet, born in 1024, built the original castle. Through the medieval centuries it functioned as a casa forta — a fortified farmhouse rather than a military stronghold — and in the sixteenth century it passed to Dimas Muntaner. That is the family thread that matters, because it is how the building eventually reached a nineteenth-century publisher and, through him, one of Catalonia’s most ambitious architects.
Publishing money and a total work of art
Ramon de Montaner co-founded the firm that became Montaner y Simon, by the end of the nineteenth century one of Spain’s leading publishers — its Barcelona headquarters, built 1880–1881, was itself designed by his nephew Domènech i Montaner. The proceeds let Montaner recover the family’s fortified house at Canet and commission that same nephew to restore and enlarge it. Domènech treated architecture as a container for every other craft, and Santa Florentina is the argument in stone: stained glass, carved timber, ironwork and sculpture commissioned from workshops and integrated into a single scheme. King Alfonso XIII visited in 1908, and Montaner was created a count. Ten sculptures from the castle have since been donated to the architect’s own house-museum down in the town.
Horn Hill
The courtyard, the King’s Room and a bedroom were used by HBO in September 2015 as Horn Hill, seat of House Tarly, appearing in the sixth season of Game of Thrones. Filming took three days. There is no dedicated screen-tourism tour; the castle runs its own historical visits and rents itself for weddings and events, so access is by booked appointment rather than open opening hours. Anyone arriving expecting a public monument with a turnstile will be disappointed — this is a private house that admits visitors on its own schedule.
The Pedracastell woods
The approach is uphill through vegetation from Canet de Mar, past a large iron gate into the grounds.
The main hall
Converted into the Great Hall for filming, and hung with a painting of the death of Count Wilfred the Hairy.
Canet’s Modernista route
The castle is one stop; the Ateneu, Casa Roura and the house-museum fill out the rest.
The motorway below
The coastal motorway crosses on stilts just under the terrace. The view is not the untouched medieval hillside the photographs imply.
Frequently asked questions
How old is the Castle of Santa Florentina?
Its origins are eleventh-century, built on the foundations of a Roman villa, but most of what visitors see dates from Domènech i Montaner’s remodelling around 1898–1914.
Was Game of Thrones filmed here?
Yes. The castle played Horn Hill, the Tarly family seat, in season six; shooting took place over three days in September 2015 in the courtyard, the King’s Room and a bedroom.
Can it be visited?
Yes, but by advance booking on set dates rather than daily opening. It remains a private property that also hosts weddings and events.
Who paid for the remodelling?
Ramon de Montaner, co-founder of the Montaner y Simon publishing house and the architect’s uncle, who recovered the family’s fortified house and commissioned the work.
Explore more of the Costa del Maresme
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How this page is maintained. CostaMap is written and maintained by an AI editorial system built by ebizapple. Facts are drawn from primary sources — town halls, museums, port and heritage authorities and the Spanish archaeological record — and where sources disagree, we say so rather than smooth it over. Photographs marked as ours are taken on location. This page was last reviewed on 10 August 2026. Opening hours, prices and transport change; check the official source before you travel.