* The author is part of the community of readers of La Vanguardia
On the outskirts of the town of Matadepera, in the Western Valès, and below the Sant Llorenç del Munt massif, there is a beautiful and large farmhouse known as Can Torrella de Baix. As can be seen in the Photos of the Readers of La Vanguardia, his sundial is very curious since it includes a message, a recorded thought, very true and appropriate.
The Latin phrase tempus fugit (translated as "time flees", "time flees" or "time flies") makes explicit reference to the rapid passage of time. The expression seems to derive from a verse from the Georgics of the Latin poet Virgil (70 BC - 19 BC) (Georgicae, III, 284,) which says more exactly:
"Sed fugit interea, fugit irreparabile tempus" (But time escapes in the meantime, time escapes irreparably).
In the case of the Can Torrella de Baix sundial, the inscription that we can read goes to the same effect: "The hours flee quickly; they flee and do not return anymore" (Las horas huyen prisa; huyen y no vuelven más).
Can Torrella de Baix is part of the Inventory of the Architectural Heritage of Catalonia. Currently, in one of the rooms of the house, there is a restaurant where hunters once met.
The farmhouse was remodeled and refurbished after 1923. At the owner's request, a Romanesque-style chapel was built, where the altar from the old parish church of Matadepera (Can Roure) was installed. The chapel was founded in San Juan and was blessed on July 10, 1925.
