CASA BATLLÓ

The Casa Batlló is one of the emblems of Barcelona. Together with La Pedrera, they are the two most famous houses of the modernist architect Antoni Gaudí. Located on the Passeig de Gràcia, the building is not a construction of Gaudí himself. It should be noted that the house was designed in 1877, by one of Gaudí's architecture teachers, Emili Sala Cortés. The Passeig de Gràcia was then a pedestrian street where wealthy families liked to walk. At the beginning of the twentieth century, an urban planning project planned to make it one of the main arteries of the city. It was then that the house was acquired by Josep Batlló i Casanovas, a great textile industrialist. Wishing to demolish the house to build a new one, he called on Gaudí. Trusting the artist completely, he gave him carte blanche. Gaudí decided to keep the facade erected by his teacher, but he remodeled the entire interior, creating a modern house worthy of our century. In fact, all the partitions were moved and the interior courtyard was enlarged to gain in luminosity. The walls of the courtyard are covered with ceramics in different shades of blue, simulating the waters of the Mediterranean. These "waves" of color enter through the windows of the building and give the impression of living in the ocean floor. Gaudí's characteristic curvilinear and asymmetrical shapes are of course present in the building's interior design. Take the time to observe the details, because they will surprise you all! In the apartments of the Batlló family, you will discover a curious fireplace in the shape of a mushroom. But also admire the beautiful oak doors with colored stained glass on top, or the ergonomically designed door handles. The large windows look directly onto Passeig de Gràcia, where you can watch the passers-by. Of course, you'll have to look up to see the undulating ceiling, which simulates sea currents. From the outside, it's easy to see the two themes that inspired Gaudí: the marine world, with the scaly roof and the coral-like colors, and the human skeleton of the building, with femurs and basins as pillars and arches, not to mention the skulls that form the balconies.

The property, a UNESCO World Heritage Site, currently belongs to the Bernat family, who, after undertaking renovation work, opened the house to the public in 1995.