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Located in Barcelona's Gràcia district, Casa Vicens was the first major work of the architect Antoni Gaudí. The house is one of the seven buildings designed by the great architect which were declared a World Heritage Site by Unesco in 2005.
Built between the years 1883 and 1888, the house presents various spaces separated by stepped angles, in a concept opposite from that of La Pedrera in which wavy lines predominate. The construction shows oriental and Moorish, touches, fashionable at the time, with the facade covered in green and white glazed tiles. A clear allusion to Manuel Vicens i Montaner, exchange and stock exchange broker and the man who entrusted Gaudí to design his future home. For the decoration, Gaudí was inspired by the plants that grow in the garden of the estate, applying for the first time his principle of using nature as an inspiration for architecture.
In the interior the Moorish style continues to predominate, which manifests in a very pronounced manner in the room known as the "fumador" (smoking room). On the ceiling, ornamentation in the form of colourful plants and flowers complete an exotic and surprising ensemble that he made all the rage among the elite of Barcelona at the time.
In 1885, Eusebio Guell commissioned Antonio Gaudi to construct his residence in the heart of Barcelona, specifically in the street Nou de la Rambla. Gaudí conceived a solemn and ostentatious building, and used rich and expensive materials such as marble, hardwood and wrought iron. The sobriety of the façade, most likely due to its location on a small site on a narrow street, contrasts with the lavishness of its interior. Parabolic arches on the façade are decorated with wrought iron railings, and give away to a wide entrance, allowing for the entry of horses and carriages.
The building is accessed through a magnificent central hall covered by a dome that exceeds the height of the roof and, through perforations shaped like a star, lets in sunlight. The hall, with a chapel attached, is richly decorated with columns, windows and grilles and leads to other rooms, all replete with windows and ornate furniture. The palace also has a large stable basement, a feature that few houses had.
There is also innovation in the use of chimneys located on the roof of the building; elements frequently used in the imaginative decoration of Gaudí. In fact, it is in the design of these chimneys that the architect first used a decorative resource that became most representative of his work: the 'trencadís' (mosaic).
The Casa Milà is one of Antoni Gaudí's most unique works. Situated right on the Passeig de Gràcia in Barcelona, it breaks with the physiognomy of the avenue. It is a building constructed with two interior patios and a basement, lower floor, main floor, four apartments, attic and roof. Gaudí established the building's structure based on stone pillars, brick and iron and the main support of the catenary archand parabolic arch.
Its construction generated a great deal of controversy in the early 1900's. Barcelonans gave it the nickname "La Pedrera," (the quarry) which refers to the type of creamy white stone used that comes from the quarries in Garraf and Vilafranca del Penedès.
Many also described it as a large boat that rowed along the Passeig de Gràcia. The building's façade is characterised by theundulations and openings in the stone to facilitate interior lighting and ventilation.
The building featured 20 homes that were rented to affluent families of the era. The Milà couple, the owners of the property, lived in the penthouse apartment. La Pedrera, however, is not a conventional residential building. Gaudí's objective was to create dwellings in movement, where everyone could have their own layout according to the needs of each tenant
The building is crowned with a rooftop terrace, finished with seven chimneys, covered withlime, white 'trencadís' (mosaic) and glass. The heads of seven mythological warriors are featured, which, from the almost imaginary rooftop, watch over the city.
With a style that is original, fantastic and full of imagination, the Casa Batlló is one of the most representative works of the architect Antoni Gaudí. Situated on the Passeig de Gràcia in Barcelona and inspired by nature, it is a marvel of ornamental design and a masterpiece of form, colour and light. For all these reasons, it was declared a World Heritage Site by Unesco.
Without doubt, the most unique architectural element is the façade of Casa Batlló; the combination of stone, wrought iron, broken pieces of glass and polychrome ceramics that make it one of the most creative and original designs of the architect.
On the top, the roof is shaped like the back of animal with large iridescent scales. Crowning it all are large spherical pieces that look like ridges and remind one of the figure of a dragon or a similar fantastic animal. Another important element of the façade is the tower crowned by a cross with four arms, as well as the design of aquatic themes that decorate the walls. The mask-shaped balconies and main floor gallery simulating bones are two attractive additions to the building.
Highlights inside include, among other elements, the ceiling of the main hall, the groups of chimneys on the roof, the main staircase and the parabolic arches of the loft, creating open and ventilated spaces advanced for the time.
The participation of the main artists, musicians and writers of the 19th century in the activities that the artist Santiago Rusiñol organised at his home-studio in Sitges from 1893 has been turned into a veritable temple of Modernisme.
It was so named Cau (hideout), because they wanted it to be a haven for lovers of poetry, and Ferrat (Iron), because he had a collection of wrought iron that he had collected on his travels around Catalonia. The building is now the Cau Ferrat Museum, one of the main museums of the region of Garraf.
It brings together the collections of ancient and modern art put together by the Catalan artist and writer. Painting, drawing, sculpture, wrought iron, ceramics, glass and furniture form a unique artistic collection, which includes some of the sculptural work of Rusiñol, as well as artists such as Casas, Picasso, El Greco, R. Pichot, Mas i Fondevila, Zuloaga, Regoyos i Degouwe de Nucques, Enric Clarasó, Manolo Hugué and Pau Gargallo, among others.
The Cau Ferrat Museum building was refurbished between 2010 and 2014 in order to strengthen the structure and restore the original historic elements.
In 1900, the businessman Eusebio Guell commissioned Antonio Gaudi with a building consisting of 60 single-family homes for affluent families on the outskirts of Barcelona. Despite the project's modernity, it was a commercial failure that forced its promoters to close it in 1914. It is currently one of the most important public parks in Barcelona.
Gaudí experimented with architectural forms closely resembling the landscape and nature . The chosen site, with almost no vegetation, was stony and with significant ground irregularities. Gaudí took advantage of these characteristics by creating winding paths and using materials from the area, such as stones, to build covered spaces and porches supported with sloping columns.
Perhaps the most spectacular part of the park is a double set of steps with a central fountain in the shape of a dragon , all of which is covered in colourful "trencadís" mosaic (by the architect Josep Maria Jujol). The double set of steps leads to a large covered area that projects outwards like a large market, and is supported by 86 majestic Doric columns. The ceiling is adorned with colourful medallions. Above this area there is a large square, bordered by a long bench that defines an original meandering path.
The house that was built as a model of the dwellings of the future housing estate, and that was called Torre Rosa in reference to the Virgin of the Rosary, was inhabited by Antoni Gaudí himself from 1906 to 1925.
The home of the industrialist chocolatier Antoni Amatller is one of the greatest examples of the Catalan modernist architecture and one of the few that still have the ornamental richness of this style promoted by the bourgeoisie. Located on Passeig de Gràcia in Barcelona, it is the work of the architect Josep Puig i Cadafalch who was commissioned to remodel the building, acquired by the industrialist, from head to foot.
The Casa Amatller stands out for the composition of the façade and for the restructuring and redecoration of the ground floor and the main floor, a reflection of the originality of the modernista architecture and decorative arts. The façade is a colourful composition that incorporates sgraffito on a white base, ochre and red ochre, glazed tiles, green woodwork, black wrought iron and grey stone from Montjuïc. In addition, there is unique sculptural decoration, notable for the relief of St. George and the Dragon, designed by Eusebi Arnau. The tiered gable at the top of the façade is reminiscent of the classic shape of a tablet of chocolate and is one of the most characteristic features of the building. Inside, one must admire the antique furniture, the columns, the floor, the ceilings and the lamps, original decoration of the residence.
Currently, the Casa Amatller is home to the Amatller Institute of Hispanic Art. It has about 400 objects of Roman, Medieval, Baroque and Modernista periods. But above all it is noted for its documentary resources. It maintains a large photo library specialising in Hispanic art, with about 350,000 items illustrating and cataloguing the works of art. Its consultation is essential for any researcher in the history of the art.
The Palau de la Música Catalana and the Hospital de la Santa Creu i de Sant Pau, works of the architect Lluís Domènech i Montaner, are two emblematic buildings of Catalan modernista architecture. Located in the city of Barcelona, they were built in the early years of the 20th century and have been on the Unesco World Heritage list since 1997.
The two buildings are good examples of modernista architecture, an artistic movement that arose in Europe in the late 19th century and which, in Catalonia, and especially in Barcelona, became widespread.
Both the Palau de la Música Catalana and the Hospital de la Santa Creu i de Sant Pau are public buildings in which tradition and modernity are fused together. They show a significant renewal of traditional techniques and the incorporation of new architectural solutions. To their architectural value is added beauty and decorative exuberance, becoming works of universal artistic and historical significance.
These constructions masterfully display the essence of modernisme and the period in which they were built: beyond the artistic side, he represented an ideological movement, based on the modernisation of the country and the search for an identity in a historical context in which civil society, especially the bourgeoisie, became the most loyal sponsor.
The work of Antoni Gaudí is the most important example of modernista architecture, the artistic movement that extended from the end of the 19th century to the beginning of the 20th century. Gaudí, the brilliant architect and artist, made a very personal interpretation of Modernisme, with architectural, decorative and spatial techniques full of creative freedom and innovation.
Park Güell, the Palau Güell and the Casa Milà were declared a World Heritage Site in 1984. Sixteen years later, five more works were included which make up a collection that is representative of the essence and the evolution of the work of Antoni Gaudí. Thus, the works declared a World Heritage Site are: the Park and the Palau Güell, Casa Milà, Casa Vicenç, the Façade of the Nativity and the Crypt of the Sagrada Familia, Casa Batlló and the crypt of the Colònia Güell.
Gaudí was a complete artist, who conceived architecture as a complete work of art, in which it is not just buildings that are important but also all the interior details. Heir to a certain way of thinking from figures such as Ruskin, Morris or Viollet-le-Duc, Gaudí in turn became an inspiration for future artists such as Le Corbusier and Dalí.
The work of Antoni Gaudí is concentrated fundamentally in Catalonia, although he worked also in other places such as Comillas (Cantabria), Astorga and León (Castilla y León) and Palma de Mallorca.
His creations are framed within the context of Modernisme and the Renaixença, cultural movements that took place within the modernity and progress of the period, but which also included strong feelings towards tradition and identity.
A Baroque church, a neo-classical convent-residence... and a cavern. These three elements make up the Cave of Sant Ignasi de Manresa, an architectural complex converted into a Centre of Spirituality, which is one of the iconic images of the capital of the Bages region.
Located on Puig de Sant Bartomeu, in one of the caverns formed by erosion from the waters of the Cardener river, this complex was built around the site where tradition says that St. Ignatius of Loyola lived for 11 months, meditating and writing part of his Spiritual Exercises, between 1522 and 1523.
In the cavern is the Relleu del Rapte de Sant Ignasi, (the Rapture of San Ignatius), a mid-17th century alabaster altarpiece, carved by the Manresan sculptor, Joan Grau, his Francesc and Josep Sunyer.
The Church, built in the 18th century with design of Josep Moretó of Vic, combines a discreet interior, in which the altar of the Blessed stands out, with a Baroque façade, both rich in elements and proportionate to its size.
Completing the complex is the convent-residence of the Jesuits, of neoclassical inspiration, and the lobby or hallway that connects the Church and the cavern, modernista in style and decorated with marble, mosaics, stucco, stained glass and metals.
