Introduction
From the landing in front of the church, looking towards the horizon, you can see the buildings of the housing estate of Can Bruguera; closer to us is a rather sparse wood: these are the Soler cork oaks. Further left, in the distance, Burriac, Montcabrer and Mataró, with Can Flaquer and its vineyards in the foreground.
The hermitage, probably built on top of a Roman structure, has been documented since 1096, although the current building dates from the 16th or 17th century. The voussoired entrance is on the south side wall, between two buttresses. The gabled roof rests on simple wooden trusses. A small bell gable rises on the west façade.
It is dedicated to Saint Martin, a soldier who, according to legend, found a poor man freezing to death and cut his cloak in two with his sword to give him half to keep warm (photo of the door lock). The next day a coloured arch appeared in the sky: the rainbow, called “Arc de Sant Martí” in Catalan. From then on he stopped being a soldier, converted to Christianity and devoted himself to helping people.
On the Sunday after 11 November, the Sant Martí gathering (aplec) is held here.
From Sant Martí de Mata, going back down the steps that led us to the hermitage, we return to the stream, which offers one of the prettiest stretches of the route, through small gorges carpeted in places with ivy, moss and polypody ferns, under a cool canopy of holm and downy oaks.
Once out of the gorge, we reach a crossroads.