On a quiet street in Barcelona’s Gràcia district you will find Casa Vicens, the first major project by Antoni Gaudí, Catalonia’s most famous architect.
Gaudí spent most of his life in Barcelona and he certainly left his footprint: the city boasts the largest concentration of his works in the world. It doesn’t take an expert to recognise his work, his style bursts with originality and creativity.
While everyone who comes to Barcelona flocks to Sagrada Família, as well as Casa Milà, Casa Batlló and Park Güell (and rightly so, they’re amazing), the same can’t be said for Casa Vicens. It’s lower popularity can partly be attributed to the fact that it was privately owned until 2014 and only opened its doors to visitors as a museum in 2017.
The last time I was in Barcelona was in 2012 and Casa Vicens wasn’t even on my radar. I didn’t even know it existed, and even then, I would only have been able to admire its façade of rich red brick and fanciful tile work. No doubt that’s still a treat, but it doesn’t compare to what lies behind its iron gate….
Entry ticket and tours to Casa Vicens
You can skip the line by purchasing a ticket in advance to save time and secure your spot → Book here.
Consider joining a 1-hour guided tour to enhance your experience. Knowledgeable guides provide insights into Gaudí’s architectural genius, the history of Casa Vicens, and the cultural context of the time.
The history of Casa Vicens
Manel Vicens i Montaner, a prominent stock and currency broker, commissioned the young Gaudí to design his summer residence in 1880, after completing his studies at the Higher Technical School of Architecture of Barcelona, where he graduated from only five years previously. The building work did not start until 1880 and was not finished until 1883 supposedly due to financial problems incurred by Señor Vicens.
Over the years, Casa Vicens experienced numerous modifications. The most significant of them was the Gaudi-approved extension led by architect Joan Baptista Serra de Martinez in 1925 at the request of Dr. Antonio Jover, a surgeon from Havana, Cuba, who acquired the house from Señor Vicens in 1924.
The single-family summer residence was modified into a home for three families, and the size of the property nearly doubled. However, since then, the plot with its gardens has shrunk to its present size, and the waterfall and the Santa Rita chapel, built in connection with the extension were unfortunately dismantled in order to make room for new buildings on the street.
Fast-forward to 2014, when MoraBanc acquired Casa Vicens, the goal of the Andorran bank was to restore the building as close to its original state as possible, and to finally open Barcelona’s eighth and final UNESCO World Heritage Site to the public. The project was attended by a team of architects, historians and restorers, who carefully studied historical documents and the house itself in order to achieve the most authentic final result. It opened as a museum in November 2017.
Motifs and influences
The completion of Casa Vicens marked not only an important milestone in Gaudí’s life, being the first house he designed, but it was also a significant milestone in architecture, being hailed as one of the first buildings of Art Nouveau. This period turned away from academic art which favoured geometry and instead sought inspiration from nature.
As soon as you walk through the gates and into the small but perfectly formed garden, you are brought into Gaudí’s extraordinary world. A world where he declared that every design he creates, “comes from the great book of nature.”
Plant, bird and seashell motifs decorate the walls, and also creep through into the building, above the fireplace and droop from the ceiling, making the interior a continuation of the garden.
In the blue smoking room, Gaudí gave free rein to his Orientalist fantasy, creating a 19th-century chill-out room. The walls combine ceramic tile and papier mâché and during the restoration was cleaned of 130 years of nicotine stains to reveal the depth of its lapis lazuli Mudejar vaulting.
Bringing nature to the interior was his overall objective. Olive branches, marigolds and daisies cover wall friezes and ceilings, now resplendent in their original polychromatic hues.
What can you find on each floor?
The house is made up of four floors: the basement which is now a store and bookshop; the first floor which consists of the bedrooms and a balcony overlooking the garden; the second floor which is now a permanent display about the history of Casa Vicens and another section dedicated to other prominent architects and finally the rooftop terrance complete with a stunning tile-work and a turret.
The bedrooms are full of exuberant leafy decor, and a covered porch from which to contemplate the garden.
The biggest challenge was converting the home into a ‘house-museum’. This has been cleverly attended to by adding a sculptural white staircase through the home’s vertical axis and converting the basement and attic into exhibition spaces and a library-shop.
The modern staircase was one of my favourite features of the renovation. I got Lee (who took many of these photos on the blog!) to stand at the top for a quirky photoshoot.
A lot of natural light floods into the the exhibition space on the second floor and offers an interesting timeline of prominent architects and movements.
Up on the roof, follow a walkway around which is clad in green and white tiles, just like the facade. On a sunny day, it’s the perfect spot for a bit of sun-bathing!
There’s also an insta-worthy turret to step inside…
Finally, you’re probably wishing you could take a souvenir home with you. Down in the basement, the La Capell Store and Bookshop has that covered.
Planning a visit?
Opening times: Daily 10am – 8pm (closed on Mondays)
Address: Carreró de les Carolines, 20, 08012 Barcelona
Website: www.casavicens.org
For more tours in Barcelona see below:
Are you a fan of Gaudí? Would you like to vist Casa Vicens?
2 Responses
Colorful images. Added Barcelona in my bucket list.
Enjoy your visit when you finally go to Barcelona!