Casa Amatller

The Casa Amatller, designed by the exceptional artist Josep Puig i Cadafalch, is the building adjacent to Gaudí's Casa Batlló, also located on the Passeig de Gràcia. It is therefore not uncommon for this stretch of the boulevard to be constantly crowded with visitors and admirers, tourists just as much as locals. Immediately in front of the entrance to the Casa Amatller, a tile in the ground marks the 0 km. of the European Route of Modernisme. The goal behind creating this route was to extend the model of the Barcelona Route of Modernisme to other cities on the continent that have comparable architectural styles in order to promote the artists and their work.

Much like the Casa Lleó-Morera, the Casa Amatller is privately owned, but its interior can be visited on specific days of the week. Tours are given in Spanish and Catalan every Wednesday at 12pm and in English every Friday at 12pm. The main entrance is always open, and the bottom floor is often used for temporary exhibitions. Visitors can also tour the interesting chocolate shop that offers a look into the history behind the building's construction. Chocolate industrialist Antoni Amatller bought the building in 1898 and commissioned Josep Puig i Cadafalch to remodel it.

The building and its creator
The house combines touches of Roman, gothic and baroque styles using the classic materials of the time. Wrought iron takes on whimsical forms, glasswork decorates many corners and mosaics cover most of the walls. The bottom floor, home to one of the most prestigious Catalonian jewellery houses, has conserved the original windows so that their floral ornamentation can still be admired.

Josep Puig i Cadafalch designed a number of other buildings in Barcelona, such as the Casa de les Punxes and the Casa Terrades. The Casa Amatller was constructed at the beginning of the 20th century and its six cupolas give it a medieval feeling. Due to the political circumstances during the time in which Puig i Cadafalch was professionally active, he had to go into exile to Paris in 1936. That was the year the Spanish Civil War broke out. When it came to an end in 1939, the ruling dictator's government did not allow him to return to Spain to practice his profession.