Can Masdeu

Can Masdeu is a former masia, or traditional Catalan farmhouse, in Collserola Park on the outskirts of Barcelona, Spain, with an original structure dating to the 17th century and living quarters added in the early 20th century. Built on an ancient Roman site, it served over time as a nunnery and then, until 1948, as a leper hospital run by Sant Pau hospital, before standing abandoned for roughly 53 years. In 2001 international activists occupied the building, turning it into a squatted social centre, residential community, and community garden, and it drew wide attention in 2002 when a judge ruled that human rights and safety outweighed property rights during an eviction standoff.