In Barcelona we love chocolate. Any time is good to have a hot chocolate with churros or melindros. In addition, always in good company.
This is why we say that we can only eat chocolate when it rains, so we avoid gaining too much weight!
But this post is not about chocolate, or food, or rain. This is about architecture. Specifically about The Casa Amatller by Puig i Cadafalch.
In the Passeig de Gràcia, amid a maelstrom of cars, buses, bicycles, tourists and locals, three singular houses rise. Separated by a few steps we have the house Lleó i Morera, the Casa Batllo and our protagonist, the Casa Amatller by Puig i Cadafalch.
The Passeig de Gracia: an expanding avenue
The year was 1898 when Mr. Antoni Amatller i Costa purchase a building located at number 41 of the Paseo de Gracia. It was a building built in 1875 without much charm or interest. In addition to living in, Antoni Amatller wanted to rent the apartments on the upper floors.
But who was Antoni Amatller? First of all, he was an industrial and Catalan businessman, third generation of a family of master chocolatiers. He also collected pieces of antique glass and was hooked on a new very trendy hobby among the bourgeoisie: taking pictures.
For his new residence on the Paseo de Gracia, where he will live and above all, show his status, consequently he hires Puig i Cadafalch.
The facade of the building is like an open book, where we read Amatller life, his relationship with the architect and the historical moment.
Puig i Cadafalch (his bio, soon in our blog) was a mathematician and architect as well as an expert in art history. At Casa Amatller he performs an interpretation of the Catalan Gothic modernizing it with decorative elements such as ceramics and mosaic. Besides, at the top of the facade, he will create a triangular element that simulates a chocolate and gives the house a Nordic appearance. But he did not dit it simply for aesthetics, it was to disguise Mr. Amatller’s photography studio (located on the terrace of the building).
As a result, today we admire a unique and singular façade.
The Casa Amatller by Puig i Cadafalch
The facade of the building is like an open book, where we read Amatller life, his relationship with the architect and the historical moment. We invite you to discover the Casa Amatller with us, the life of the family and its relations with neighbors. An excellent walk through the Barcelona of the early twentieth century.
Would you like an in depth visit? We can arrange a visit to their appartment where you will admire their paintings (yes, yes, the original), their furniture and even the accounting books!