Travel Reference
In-Depth Information
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Passeig de Gràcia
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Sight
TOP SIGHT
La Pedrera
This undulating beast is another madcap Gaudí masterpiece, built from 1905 to 1910 as a
combined apartment and office block. Formally called Casa Milà after the businessman who
commissioned it, it is better known as La Pedrera (the Quarry) because of its uneven grey
stone facade, which ripples around the corner of Carrer de Provença.
PereMilàhadmarriedtheolder-andfarricher-RoserGuardiola,thewidowofJosepGuar-
diola, and clearly knew how to spend his new wife's money. Milà was one of the city's first
carownersandGaudíbuiltparkingspaceintothisbuilding,itselfafirst.Whencommissioned
to design this apartment building, Gaudí wanted to top anything else done in L'Eixample.
The Fundació Caixa Catalunya has opened the top-floor apartment, attic and roof, together
calledtheEspaiGaudí(GaudíSpace),tovisitors.Theroofisthemostextraordinaryelement,
withitsgiantchimneypotslookinglikemulticolouredmedievalknights.Gaudíwantedtoput
a tall statue of the Virgin up here too: when the Milà family said no, fearing it might make
the building a target for anarchists, Gaudí resigned from the project in disgust.
One floor below the roof, where you can appreciate Gaudí's taste for parabolic arches, is a
modest museum dedicated to his work.
Thenextfloordownistheapartment(ElPisdelaPedrera).Itisfascinatingtowanderaround
thiselegantlyfurnishedhome,doneupinthestyleawell-to-dofamilymighthaveenjoyedin
theearly20thcentury.Therearesensuouscurvesandunexpected touchesineverythingfrom
light fittings to bedsteads, from door handles to balconies.
Don't Miss…
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The marvellous roof
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The apartment
