In Roman times, the River Manol next to the house was much larger and faster flowing than it is now and there was a Roman settlement which used the power of the river for agriculture and other purposes. The Roman remains which are barely 50 metres from the property are currently being excavated and are interesting to visit when the site is open. Many years later, two mills were constructed on the river banks – Mas Moli Gran and Mas Moli Petit (Mas is short for Masia which means country house in Catalan and Moli or Molino is the word for a mill). Ours is the smaller of the two, hence the Catalan name, Petit, although in truth it is far from small! Both these mills used the power of the water from the Manol to press the olives picked from the neighbouring fields to make olive oil. You can still see the old stone wheel in the cellar at Mas Moli as well as the tunnels used to funnel the water through the mill. By the mid-20th century, the river had receded and both properties were no longer used as water mills and fell into disrepair. During the 1980’s, Mas Moli was painstakingly restored and extended by the predecessor of the current owners using local masonry, timbers and other original materials combined with splendid interior features designed to match the authenticity of the original mill. As for our sister property, Mas Moli Gran, an extensive restoration project is underway but as the property is significantly larger, this is expected to take a few years.