mas

A mas in the Provence and Midi; masia in Catalonia, Balearic Islands, the Land of Valencia and Sardinia; or masía ( in Aragon is a traditional farmhouse. Description A mas was the center of a largely self-sufficient economic unit, which could produce its own fruit, vegetables, grain, milk, meat and even silkworms. It was constructed of local stone, with the kitchen and room for animals on the ground floor, and bedrooms, storage places for food and often a room for raising silkworms on the upper floor. Not every farmhouse in Provence is a mas. A mas was distinct from the other traditional kind of house in Provence, the bastide, which was the home of a wealthy family. The mas of Provence and Catalonia always faces to the south to offer protection against the mistral wind coming from the north. Also because of the mistral, there are no windows facing north, and on all the other sides, windows are narrow to protect against the heat of summer and the cold of winter. A mas is almost always rectangular, with two sloping roofs. The mas found in the mountains and in the Camargue sometimes has a more complex shape.