Casa Vicens is Gaudí's first mansion in Barcelona. “Rainbow” Art Nouveau architecture: The most famous buildings of Antoni Gaudi as manifestations of his genius Order for the design of a private house

The capital of Catalonia owes much of its tourist attractiveness to the great architect Antoni Gaudi. It is enough to note that of the eight UNESCO sites in this city, six are the creations of the Catalan master. Among them, Casa Vicens is the first major work of the emerging architect in Barcelona. Casa Vicens is located in the tourist shadow of Gaudí's more famous buildings - the Casa Mila and Batlló, Park Güell and the Sagrada Familia Church, but this circumstance does not in any way diminish its architectural value.

Story

In 1878, Antonio Gaudi, who had just graduated as an architect, designed a country residential mansion for the owner of a manufacturing factory. ceramic tiles and bricks by Manuel Vicens. The area of ​​Gràcia, where the Vicens house was built, was located outside of Barcelona at that time. Construction began 5 years later and was completed in 1888.

The area allocated for construction was limited - 30 by 34.5 m. However, relegated to the background of the site, the mansion is quite spacious: the area of ​​​​all premises exceeds 1 thousand m2. The building, designed by Gaudi, was “butted” on one side into the monastery located next door. Of the other three facades, the southwestern one was considered the main one, facing the garden and being, as it were, its continuation. At the same time, the side south-eastern façade, overlooking the current Carrer de les Carolines street, turned out to be the most decorative.

The four-story house consisted of a semi-basement, two residential floors and an attic. On the lower residential floor there was a hall, a dining room and a smoking lounge, and on the second floor there were bedrooms.

After Vicens' death in 1895, his widow sold the house to the Havana surgeon Antonio Jover, whose descendants lived in the house until 2017. The new owner ordered an expansion of the mansion to Gaudí's student. A flight of space, a courtyard and a staircase were added to the rear of the building, making the floors self-contained. Interestingly, the plan for this reconstruction received the approval of Gaudí himself. The next two reconstructions of the building, carried out respectively in the 20th and 21st centuries, were also respectful of Gaudí's original plan, and contributed to its preservation in good condition.

The Hovers allowed “neighbors and tourists” to enter their private home only one day a year. Fortunately for them, in 2017 the Andorran MoraBanc bought the house for 35 million EUR and set up a modest museum in it.

Initially, the Vicens house was surrounded by a garden. During the expansion of Carolines Street, on which the house is located, and also after the sale by the owners in the mid-20th century. parts land plot, part of the garden and fence, the rotunda and the cascade with a fountain were lost. True, a smaller copy of this fountain was recreated in 1984 on the territory of another work of the master - the Guell estate, where there is now a center for the study of Gaudi's work.

Modernity

The external appearance of the Vicens house clearly reveals the direction of activity of its first owner. The building is constructed of raw stone and covered with colored ceramic tiles produced by the customer. The beautiful mansion, therefore, in addition to its main purpose, also popularized the owner’s products.

Architecturally, the building is a quadrangle, the regularity of which is somewhat disrupted by the dining room and smoking room. Casa Vicens is built in Gaudí's favorite original Art Nouveau style. At the same time, in the decorative style of the building, the influence of the architect’s youthful passion for the Spanish-Moorish Mudejar style, popular at that time in Barcelona, ​​is obvious.

With his characteristic meticulousness and ensemble thinking, Gaudí designed not only the building itself, but also the lattice with metal palm leaves of the fence, gates, balconies and windows. This was not difficult for him: after all, Gaudi came from a family of hereditary coppersmith and blacksmith, and mastered this art in his youth. The lace of forged latticework, together with the carpet pattern of the facing tiles, significantly softens the opposition between the general upward thrust of the building and the standard horizontal division of its floors.

In Gaudí's future works, each floor will be original. Tourists familiar with Gaudí's other works are somewhat surprised by the straight lines in Vicens' house: later the architect began to be considered a hater of them. He said that they were unusual for nature, which had been a source of inspiration for him all his life.

Natural motifs are also widely used in the Vicens house. Marigold flowers growing in the surrounding garden are also depicted on the ceramic tiles of the facade, creating the overall composition of the house and garden. Birds - flamingos and storks - can be seen on the walls of the interior, and cherry branches are on the ceiling.

Similar to houses and, ventilation shafts and chimneys Vicens' houses are decorated: in this case, ceramic tiles were used for this. When looking at the building, graceful turrets reminiscent of mosque domes, bay windows and carved balconies attract attention. The variegated façade with a checkerboard-floral pattern not only does not spoil the house, but also imparts a certain warmth to it. As Gaudi said, he simply transferred onto the tiles the floral carpet of marigolds and sunflowers that he saw in the garden at the site of the mansion.

Despite the inexpensive finishing materials, the Vicens house resembles a castle. The interiors of the Vicens house are extremely decorative, and surprise with the careful execution of each element. Fortunately, the most decorated and memorable rooms - the lobby, smoking lounge and dining room - have hardly changed their original appearance.

How to get there?

Address of Casa Vicens: Carrer de les Carolines, 20-26. Opening hours are from 10 to 19 hours, and the entrance ticket price is 16 EUR. Directions:

• take the green metro line L3 to Fontana station;
• lines L6, L7, S5, S55, S1, S2 of FGC trains to Gracia station;
• bus routes No. 2, 4, 14, V17, 27, 87, 2222;
• the “blue” route of the Bus Turistic tourist bus.

Interesting video:

Vicens House (Casa Vicens), which became the first important project Antoni Gaudí, is the family residence of the industrialist Manuel Vicens. This delightful tourist site is also included in the list of UNESCO World Heritage Sites.


The building dates from 1883–89. It is located in the Gracia district. Despite the small area of ​​the site occupied by this building, the house cannot be called small: there are four floors, located on an area of ​​​​about 1160 square meters. m.

The characteristic feature of this House of Vicens is its asymmetry; it is manifested in the projecting pediments and buttresses, even more projecting upper galleries and roof towers, made in the Moorish style.



Casa Vicens is a private residence not accessible to tourists. Only on St. Rita’s Day, May 22, “neighbors and townspeople” can get here.
Currently, the Catalan real estate agency Altadisión is selling the Vicens House. On his website you can find many photographs of his interiors and views of the building, as well as original drawings.

Address of the mysterious and asymmetrical Casa Visens: Carrer de les Carolines ( Carrer de les Carolines/Calle de las Carolinas), 18-24, Barcelona, ​​Spain

Isn't Gaudi a genius?! Not only is the architectural work breathtaking, but also humble and secluded, which is now a museum open to the public! To be in Barcelona and not get acquainted with every architectural creation of Antoni Gaudi means not to be in Barcelona!

House of Vicens or Casa Vicens ( Casa Vicens) is located in Gracia quarter (BarryGracia) and is almost the only significant attraction of this area of ​​​​Barcelona. The Gràcia quarter is located in the northern part of Barcelona and borders the Eixample district. Gracia is a former factory town that only became part of Barcelona in 1897. Today, this suburb with cozy small squares and narrow streets is popular among the bohemian public and students due to its cheap restaurants, excellent bars, and cinemas that show foreign films in the original language.

Address of Casa Vicens : Carrer de les Carolines ( Carrer de les Carolines/Calle de las Carolinas), 18-24. Nearest metro station: Fontana (branch L3); There is also a train station nearby Gracia(applies to lines FGC, owned by the Catalan government; not to be confused with lines RENFE which belong to the Spanish state). From Eixample quarter Vicens's house can be reached quite quickly on foot (along the boulevard Passeig de Gracia, turning into an avenue Carrer Gran de Gracia).

Attention : the estate is privately owned, so it can only be viewed from the outside. True, once a year, on May 22, St. Rita’s Day, the house opens to “neighbors and city residents.”

Location of Casa Vicens on the map of Barcelona(source ):

(cm. also the location of Casa Vicens on the route map of our walk around Barcelona)

2 Casa Vicens: the story of a unique house

2.1 History and chronology of the construction of Casa Vicens

Casa Vicens (Casa Vicens) - a private residential building built for one wealthy family, became first significant work a young architect who relatively recently began independent work Antonio Gaudi(1852-1926) (before that there were still lanterns on ( Plaza Real), Gaudí's project in 1879, as well as participation in the construction of a giant fountain in the Ciutadella Park, but all these were official projects, while the Vicens house was the first order Gaudí received from private faces).

For whom was it made? first large order Gaudi? The customer was Don Manuel Vicens iMontaner(Manuel Vicens i Montaner), a wealthy manufacturer of bricks and ceramic tiles (according to other sources, Vicens was just a stockbroker, not an industrialist). It is known that already in 1878, Vicens, who in 1877 inherited from his mother a plot of land (family estate) in the Gracia quarter, turned to the young architect with a request to develop a project for the construction of a summer mansion for his family (it was then, in the spring of 1878, that Gaudí Graduated from the Barcelona Higher School of Architecture).

But Gaudi began work much later - perhaps this was due to the financial difficulties of the customer. One way or another, only in 1883 Gaudí submitted for approval to the department of the municipality in the Gràcia quarter a design for a house for Manuel Vicens. Construction permission was received on March 8, 1883.

Thus, as can be seen from the dates, direct construction work on the construction of the mansion began only 5 years after its order. Official construction dates Casa Vicens is most often considered to be the years from 1883 to 1888 (less often - from 1878 to 1888) (the latter date is also quite arbitrary, since even at that time the interior decoration was not yet completely finished).

2.2 Site location and Gaudi project

The initially approved version of the project only involved building a house and laying out a garden. Later, on September 27, at a meeting of the municipality of Gracia, permission was also issued for the construction of a number of one-story buildings, decorative cascade and wall enclosing the mansion .

Gaudi's project has survived to this day. It was also possible to save the sheet with the situational information printed on it. house plan dated January 15, 1883 (source of illustration):

At the time of construction of the mansion, Casa Vicens was located in a narrow street of Sant Gervasi ( Carrer SantGervasi ), which was subsequently expanded and is now called Carrer de les Carolines (Carrer de les Carolines) . This street connected the wide avenue Carrer Gran de Gràcia ( Carrer Gran de Gracia) with the Cassoles channel ( torrente de Cassoles), separating the village of Gracia from the village of Sant Gervasi de Cassoles ( SantGervasi de Cassoles) (at the end of the 19th century, both territories became part of Barcelona as its districts).

The plot of land that Don Vicens received was located along Sant Gervasi street (Carrer SantGervasi ), the current Carrer de les Carolines) and was limited, on the one hand, monastery Daughters of Charity of St. Vincent de Paul ( Hijas de la Caridad de San Vicente de Paul), and on the other - dead end street Sant Gervasi ( Callejón de San Gervasio/SantGervasi ), located perpendicular to Sant Gervasi street. The rear boundary of the site was parallel to Sant Gervasi Street.

Plot allocated for a house, was small: only 0.1 hectares (30 x 34.5 m). Despite this, the mansion is quite spacious (at the moment, the total area of ​​​​the premises on all four floors is 1160 sq.m., in the time of Gaudi, before reconstruction, the area was 1035 sq.m.).

Gaudi designed the building in such a way that on the fourth side it was closely adjacent to the adjacent wall of the neighboring monastery. Thus, apart from this “blind” façade, the result is a mansion with three facades, of which the main one is considered to be facing the garden (although the side façade, facing the current Carrer de les Carolines street, is more interesting due to the abundance of richly decorated windows and balconies). After reconstruction in 1925 (more details cm. in the section ""), when the building was slightly expanded at the expense of the neighboring plot, Casa Vicens acquired and fourth facade .

Drawings of the two main facades of Casa Vicens: the central (southwest) facing the garden, and the side (southeast) facing the current Carrer de les Carolines street (source):

The orientation of the house from north to south approximately coincided with the diagonal of the regular rectangle that represented the site. The façade facing what is now Carrer de les Carolines was, as it is today, oriented to the southeast. The building's plan approximately fits into a semicircle with the axis slightly shifted into the depth of the site. Due to the fact that the house was modestly located at the edge of the plot, the surrounding area noticeably gained in area and visually grew. In addition, this territorial solution made it possible to somewhat veil the rectangular shape of the house. When driving along the Carrer de les Carolines street, the small structure unfolds like a grandiose panorama: all three facades of the building open one after another, and the whole view of the mansion, similar to a theater stage, opens up. Current view of Casa Vicens from Carrer de les Carolines and from the corner (sources):

At first the building had only two parallel span. In the first, adjacent to the wall of the monastery, the owner's office (office) was located. There was also a staircase that led to the first floor and semi-basement premises, as well as a utility room for washing and ironing clothes (this part of the house had a separate entrance for servants from the garden). In the second flight there was a vestibule, accessible by a short staircase, a spacious dining room with a large veranda overlooking the garden, and a small picturesque smoking room in oriental style ( more about the interiors of Casa Vicens read below in the section « Interior design of Casa Vicens: description and photographs"). On top floor there were bedrooms, and even higher there was an attic. In the semi-basement there was a kitchen with elevators for lunch delivery, a pantry, a coal storage, utility rooms and maids' quarters. Thus the house was divided into four floors: semi-basement, two main residential floors (on the ground ( stalls) there was a dining room, a smoking room, a hall, etc., on the second floor there were bedrooms with plastered walls and frescoes) and an attic.

The Vicens building was separated from the Carrer de les Carolines street by a massive blank wall made of massive cobblestones lined with plaster ( cm. old photo below). The upper stones were decorated with carvings. The fence completely covered the lower part of the house, visually cutting off the bottom of the structure, making the house seem grander and more significant in size than it actually was. Later, during the expansion of the street, the wall had to be demolished.

In front of the double entrance to the building (one entrance was the main one and the second was a service entrance) there was lattice in the form of a steel mesh, at the corners of which metal marigold buds were placed ( Tagetes erecta) . Inside each steel section were realistically reproduced cast iron palm leaves ( more about palm lattice cm. below, in the section ""). The current appearance of the fence (photo from the site):

2.3 Construction of the garden according to Gaudi’s design: fountains and other structures

As for the garden plot, it was not particularly large on the south-eastern side, but after the expansion of Carrer de les Carolines, its area was reduced even more. Directly behind the bars there was a narrow strip of garden with two staircases: one leading to the main entrance, the other to the portico, which served as a support for the veranda of one of the bedrooms, there was a service entrance. Near the corner of the stairs leading to the main entrance, that is, between the house and the massive wall that ran along what is now Calle Carolines, there was fountain(surtidor) made of brick and ceramics, destroyed in 1925. The round bowls of the fountain, a larger lower one and a smaller upper one, had the shape of a prism with ten sides and were covered with white and green glazed ceramic tiles.

A smaller copy of this fountain, created in 1984, is located in the gardens of the Güell estate, which currently houses a center for research into Gaudi's work. (photo source):

The following photo shows the Vicens building and garden as they looked before the 1925 renovation (source; this photo clearly shows the fountain against the wall and the date palm growing on the property):

Between the fountain and the gallery (veranda) in front of the dining room there grew a beautiful date palm (Phoenix dactylifera). The fence wall continued to the corner with the dead-end lane of Sant Gervasi ( Callejón de San Gervasio/SantGervasi ), where it formed a right angle with a rounded edge. Behind this part of the wall there was a small alcove or rotunda ( glorieta, mirador) - a small observation post formed by three stone columns and two brick pillars, which served as supports for false arches made of the same material, a cornice with guttae from artificial stone and finials with two slopes made of hollow brick.

The wall continued further along the entire cul-de-sac of Sant Gervasi ( Callejón de San Gervasio/SantGervasi ). There, on the southwestern side of the site, opposite the central façade of Casa Vicens, Gaudí ordered the creation of a graceful decorative cascade made of brick, consisting of a parabolic grotto arch topped with a monumental portico. Old photo of the cascade (source):

The cascade was in perfect harmony with the Casa Vicens building, forming a single compositional whole with it. On the sides of the structure there were two rows of graceful brick columns with attics on top, on which two water tanks were installed, into which water flowed, releasing excess pressure. In fact, these were two water towers: thin “rain” streams continuously flowed through their drainage channels, falling onto the stones of the sink located under the cascade arch, and then into the volumetric bowl at the foot of the arch. The steps of the cascade covered with parabolic arches invited the visitor to enjoy pleasant view and feel the coolness of the waters of this quiet oasis. The arch's vaults were decorated with terracotta bas-reliefs by the sculptor Antonio Garcia ( Antonio Riba Garcia, (1859-1932)), who also executed various figures to decorate the façade of Casa Vicens and the top of the dining room doors.

View of Casa Vicens from the garden, from under the cascade arch (source):

Unfortunately, nothing has survived from the above-described part of the garden. In 1946, the cascade (by that time already redone) was destroyed due to the sale of part of the estate (up to the street Avenida Príncipe de Asturias) to other owners.

Small fountain (pila, fuente) was also installed in the central part of the gallery (veranda) in front of the dining room on the main southwestern facade (this gallery, subsequently rebuilt, was closed from the garden side wood panels-blinds in Japanese style). The design of this built-in fountain consisted of a "Renaissance" style marble shell placed on a large elliptical bowl made of thin iron rods that resembled a spider's web. Passing between the rods, the water sparkling in the sun shimmered with all the colors of the rainbow, forming a truly wonderful spectacle. The garden was also decorated with flower beds and shrubs of bizarre shapes.

An old photograph of the central facade of Casa Vicens, showing a gallery with a built-in fountain and a garden with flower beds (source):

In the rear (northwestern) part of the plot there was another smaller garden, which served as a kind of vegetable garden. Fruit trees grew here, and elements of garden decor and even ordinary flower beds were completely absent.

Plant motifs from the garden migrated to and. As you know, Gaudi studied from nature all his life and drew inspiration from it.

2.4 Subsequent owners and reconstruction of the house and garden

Don Manuel Vicens died in 1895. In 1899, Vicens' widow Dolores Giralt ( Dolors Giralt) sold the mansion to Dr. Antonio Jover ( Antoni Jover i Puig), the grandfather of the present owners, and the house has belonged to the Hover family ever since. At first the house was used as summer cottage, but in 1924 Dr. Hover decided to move there permanently (before that his permanent residence was in the center of Barcelona, ​​a few kilometers from the Gràcia quarter), and in 1925-1927 the building was expanded. The work was carried out by Guadi's student, an architect. Joan Baptista de Serra Martinez (Juan Bautista de Serra Martinez) (1890-1963), which added another bay to the rear of the building. At the same time, a patio and a staircase appeared, and each floor thus became independent. The partial reconstruction, commissioned by the new owner, was carried out with the utmost respect for the original, and Gaudí personally approved the plan. Moreover, with every intervention in the building or garden itself, the new architect constantly consulted with the master. The Hover family was also very careful about Gaudí's work. So general style and the spirit of Gaudí's architecture was preserved during this reconstruction.

In 1925 the municipality decided to extension of Carrer de les Carolines. The new street boundary practically coincided with the side (southeast) facade of the building. Because of this strip of garden between the fence wall and the house had to be destroyed. The service entrance is located in a new span, which appeared near the house due to its expansion at the expense of the former monastery. Fountain near the wall was destroyed in the same 1925. Other Gaudí buildings also did not survive: alcove And fence wall .

Current situation plan of the building (source):

At the same time, during the reconstruction of the architect Martinez, the garden of Casa Vicens was expanded: neighboring plot of land, purchased by the new owner of the house (previously this plot belonged to the now dissolved monastery). The site was located between the dead end of Sant Gervasi and the Cassoles channel (the current street Av. Principe de Asturias) . It was decided to enclose the new space of the site with a metal lattice, repeating the same motif of palm leaves.

The decorative cascade (waterfall gallery) also underwent considerable changes; after reconstruction, it lost the grotto and became like a triumphal arch connecting the old and new garden areas. De Martinez also slightly redesigned the building and built at the farthest corner of the site (street corner Avenida Príncipe de Asturias) topped with a dome chapel, dedicated to St. Rita. The architect added two new doors with stairs leading to Calle de las Carolinas, and turned the two porches that protected the main entrance into windows (due to the expansion of Carolines Street and the narrowing of the space in front of the entrance, it was necessary to sort of turn ground floor 90 degrees and turn the former entrance doors into windows). The third arch of the gallery became the new entrance. The back door was converted into a window, and bars were installed to protect each window. The window bars were designed by de Martinez himself. You can admire them to this day.

Changes were also made to the interior of the house. The grand staircase installed on the ground floor according to Gaudí's design was replaced by a huge hall. The design of the gallery in front of the dining room was also changed, which, according to the original design, protruded quite strongly into the garden. Art historians consider the greatest loss to be the disappearance of the built-in fountain described above, which was installed in the central part of the gallery in front of the dining room.

Garden around Casa Vicens, view after reconstruction (photo of 1925, source):

In the foreground the rotunda of the chapel is visible, behind is the superstructure over the artificial waterfall (cascade); both buildings were subsequently destroyed. It is known that the chapel stood until 1962.

In 1927, after the completion of reconstruction, the Barcelona City Council ( Ayuntamiento de Barcelona) awarded the Casa Vicens Prize ( Premio al Mejor Edificio), declaring the building the best building of the year. So the first serious job young Gaudi received official recognition only after 37 years.

Unfortunately, gardens of Casa Vicens, former basis Gaudí's original design were constantly reduced as subsequent owners of the house sold them piecemeal. In the 40s and 60s, the garden plots adjacent to the Vicens house were sold, and the building itself was surrounded on all sides by neighboring multi-storey residential buildings.

At the end of the 19th century, the architecture of the mansion was obviously perceived completely differently, more holistically and freely than now: let’s not forget that Gaudí developed his project at a time when the Gràcia district was still a suburb of Barcelona and there were many undeveloped plots there. However, despite the reduction of the garden area, the close development of the adjacent part of the block, various alterations and redevelopments, Casa Vicens still radiates a very special artistic energy and is rightfully considered a real a monument of architectural art of the Art Nouveau era.

In 1969, the Spanish state declared Casa Vicens a historical and architectural monument. And in July 2005, the mansion was included in the UNESCO World Cultural Heritage List.

2.5 Current fate of the building

In 1962, Antonio Jover's daughter, Fabiola Jover ( Fabiola Jover de Herrero), the current owner of the house, carried out another reconstruction of Casa Vicens, entrusting the work to the architect Antonio Pineda (Antonio Pineda) . The goal of this renovation was to return the building to its original condition.

The last restoration work took place in 2001-2004, under the guidance of an architect Ignacio Herrero Jovera (Ignacio Herrero Jover), the son of Fabiola Jover, who grew up in Casa Vicens and knows the house better than anyone else (Antonio Jover, accordingly, was his grandfather) (by the way, Ignacio’s 30-year-old son, Nacho, also became an architect: either family tradition, or the influence of the house). During this restoration, the dilapidated wall coverings and paintings on the ground floor were renewed, the facades and decorative decoration were strengthened.

Senora Jover, like other members of this family, has great respect for Gaudi's masterpiece and does everything to maintain the mansion in good condition. In her own words, she was surprised “how easy the hardest part of the job was: getting the ceramic material needed to replace the loose tiles on the exterior walls.”

Fragments of the facade of Casa Vicens, photo from the site:

A well-known Spanish company helped the owners with the restoration. Tau Ceramica, thanks to whose skill “at the beginning of the 21st century it was possible to make tiles that are indistinguishable from those produced in the 19th century. After careful study of pigments, materials and masonry systems, specialists Tau made facing tiles manually using technology trepa, used over 100 years ago." The tiles were painted by hand, with a wide flat brush in one stroke; Despite the fact that the original tiles have faded somewhat over time, the new ones are practically indistinguishable from them. Company Tau Ceramica not only made new ceramic tiles to replace those that had broken off and renewed worn ones, but also partially financed the entire project for the reconstruction of the decorative decoration of Casa Vicens.

Currently (information updated as of 2010) this unique house put up for sale. If you have an extra 35 million euros lying around, you can ask about the details of the deal. Detailed information can be obtained at official website of Casa Vicens: www.casavicens.es ( there is a version in Russian).

Probably, this house should be purchased by a true connoisseur of art, a collector and a big fan of Gaudi’s work, and not just a wealthy person and a lover of the exotic. Yes, and this person must also be prepared for difficulties and understand that any repair work in a building included in the UNESCO list is a whole bureaucratic epic.

Photos of some details of the façade of Casa Vicens (source):

The current owners comment on their decision to sell the mansion: “This is very beautiful house, but living in it is inconvenient, and none of us is particularly eager to preserve it.” Ignacio Herrero says: “We, four brothers, own the house, but two of us live in another city with our families. And in order to maintain the house as a Gaudi museum, where two thousand people would come every day, you need to completely abandon all other matters and devote yourself only to this house, which is why we decided to sell it.” At the same time, he notes that they have no problems with security and privacy: “We have no problems with uninvited visitors. I think most people are more afraid of us than we are of them."

Now Fabiola Jover de Herrero and her husband live in the house, as well as one of their sons (brother Ignacio) and his family. The top floor, originally intended for servants, is rented out as rented apartment.

Ignacio adds: “This is our home, but at the same time we have the feeling that it belongs to everyone, because it is part of the cultural heritage of Catalonia. That is why we are not particularly keen to advertise our intentions on the local market” (curiously, the website for the sale of a house does not have a version in either Spanish or Catalan; the company entrusted with the sale focuses primarily on clients from Russia and Arab countries) . It is possible that the new owner of the house will open a Gaudi Museum here and make the mansion open to the public.

3 Casa Vicens: description of architecture and interior

3.1 Artistic significance, stylistics. Place in the work of Antoni Gaudi

Casa Vicens is a motley mixture of various architectural styles, the most striking and recognizable of which is Moorish styleMudejar (neomudejar) . At the time of the development of the project, Gaudí was at the initial stage of his career - a stage that was still characterized by a relatively simple constructive language and, above all, a preferential use of straight rather than curved lines, in contrast to the master's later work. From a stylistic point of view, this was a period of fascination with Orientalist trends: structural forms and ornamental solutions reflected Gaudí’s taste for oriental art, primarily Moorish, Persian and Byzantine. The influence of Moorish art is evident in the decor and the abundance of colorful tiles and natural stone. Photo from the site:

This penchant for oriental style manifested itself in other works of Gaudí, such as the El Capriccio mansion in Comillas. But exactly Casa Vicens remains Gaudí's first mature creation, executed in neo-Moorish(Spanish-Arabic) style. Gaudi's love for Moorish architecture originated already in the southern age, during the study of the works of Owen Jones “The Grammar of Ornament” (1856), “Sketches for Mosaics and Mosaic Panels” (1842), “Drawings, Projections and Details of the Alhambra” (1842). Moreover, this architectural style was gaining popularity: before Casa Vicens, Barcelona already had several examples of the Neo-Mudéjar style. It should therefore come as no surprise that, unlike some of Gaudí's later buildings such as La Pedrera, Casa Vicens was enthusiastically received by Barcelona's elite.

Portrait of young Gaudi (source):

The building of the Vicens House, which was Gaudí's most exotic creation at that time, became a kind of experimental platform for the architect. It is with this order that the game with possibilities, so characteristic of Gaudí, begins. ceramics, which he and many other modernists subsequently used in the decoration of buildings of a very different nature. The fact that the customer was a manufacturer of ceramic tiles also played a role, so the quaint Moorish mansion, decorated with painted tiles, also became a successful advertising move. There is evidence that Gaudi visited a ceramic factory Manises near Valencia to study tile technology. This may have been just during the design phase of Casa Vicens.

Despite the simplicity of the layout, the mansion amazes with its extreme complexity and richness; it is a real small castle. Its appearance is marked by fantasy and testifies to the undoubted creative audacity of the designer. Already here it is obvious how much Gaudi, with his practicality, is capable of gravitating towards something strange, almost clownish. The ornaments decorating Casa Vicens, their lyrical subjectivity and playfulness, the innovation of formal approaches - all this demonstrated a departure from the architectural traditions of that time, captivated and surprised. The house was one of the first architectural works in the modernist style and stood in stark contrast to the eclecticism that was dominant at the time.

Casa Vicens, with its dizzying jumble of geometric shapes, is recognized as one of the revolutionary buildings of the period of aesthetic development modernism. The mansion was highly unusual and amazing for its time: authentic ornaments abundantly decorating individual fragments of the house; many protruding elements and parts; prismatic and dome-shaped shapes; contrasting textures and colors; the unity of the building with the surrounding landscape - all this was unexpected and original.

In this secluded private house with a garden, Gaudi realized his youthful vision of a family mansion that protected the privacy of family members (photo from the website).

Even today, squeezed into a narrow street, Casa Vicens, with its white and green tiles and creamy yellow stone, always drawn blinds and tightly locked cast-iron gates, exudes an atmosphere of sleepy escapism, safety and comfort.

3.2 Structural system of the house

The building of the Vicens house, in comparison with other buildings of Gaudí, is different simple design. The load-bearing walls are made of brick. The beams of the interfloor floors, as well as the roof, are wooden. The load-bearing structure of the building precisely corresponds to the division of rooms.

In plan, the house is an almost regular quadrangle (only from the entrance side the dining room protrudes slightly outside). Gaudi did not use curved lines here, so characteristic of his later work. In the design of Casa Vicens, on the contrary, we find many simple straight lines and rectangular shapes. The individual parts of the building are separated by corners, rather than flowing smoothly into each other. View of Casa Vicens from the corner (photo source):

Main building material is a raw stone that the young architect uses in combination with red brick and polychrome tiles, forming a checkerboard or floral pattern. Photo from the site:

Compositional structure The structure is contradictory: the strong motive of upward growth, on the one hand, opposes the theme of horizontal division of floors, on the other. But this “conflict” is mitigated using several techniques at once: firstly, fractional squares of chessboard pattern tiles blur the opposition of horizontal and vertical lines; The iron lace of the forged latticework and the carpet-like nature of the floral patterns of the tiles also do their job.

New for Spanish architecture late XIX century began the creation of basements, the ceilings of which were assembled from brick cloisonne vaults, and the roof consisted of a number of brick-lined planes located along inclined wooden beams. Gaudí's innovation was also a roof design that was unusual for that time. The architect was the first to use a method of bypassing the roof along its entire perimeter. At the same time, the existing turns of the roof were marked by built arbors with small domes built above them. The bypass made along the perimeter of the roof seems to continue the bypass galleries included in the design of the third floor of the building. Moreover, all angular turns are fixed by hexagonal balconies in plan.

In addition, Gaudi was the first to use the so-called technique in the architecture of the house of Vicens Gaudí. free spatial collage. It is with this technique that the master uses the bold combinations of stylized figures of Art Nouveau, which grew on Spanish-Moorish soil (an example is white and green squares of tiles installed along the main vertical lines and above the lintels of windows, “stalactites” of consoles, polygonal arches).

3.3 Exterior decoration of the mansion

The Vicens house is a prime example of how you can turn a rationally designed house into a small castle by means of decoration and ornamentation alone. The exterior decoration of the mansion is a vibrant multi-colored orientalism with lush decoration of the facades, numerous bay windows and tiled decoration of smooth sections of the wall. On the top floor with a through gallery, corner towers protrude forward, testifying to the Moorish roots of Casa Vicens (photo source):

When building the house, Gaudi used many different decorative elements in the style of Moorish architecture, such as turrets, bay windows, through consoles and protruding cornices, balconies and facade projections. This original external structure made it possible, despite the simplicity of the mansion’s form, to achieve an amazingly rich volumetric solution and make the building bright, attractive and even playful, avoiding the harsh appearance characteristic of classical architecture. When viewed from the street, the structure seems to be expanding outward as the height increases (photo from the website):

The roof has a slope on both sides and four gables. A special path is laid along the edge of the roof, providing free passage and making it easier to carry out repair work. As in other Gaudí buildings, the ventilation ducts and chimneys are lavishly decorated (in this case with the same ceramic tiles as the façade). Photo from the site:

Both in the corner turrets and on the roof itself (in the open air) there are benches. Extremely finely dissected corner turret, strongly protruding upward, this is the highest point of the mansion (photo source):

In the design of Casa Vicens, Gaudi actively used painting, sculpture and applied arts - artistic elements that complement the architecture of the building and form a single ensemble with it. Jewelry is everywhere, wild and luxurious. At the corners of the building, Gaudí placed windows in the Moorish style, which resemble miniature minarets, and above them he placed rather controversial, or even simply inappropriate, cherubs (photo source):

The walls of the facades seem precious, although Gaudi finishes them with simple and cheap materials. The base of the walls is made of ocher-colored wild stone and is complemented by raw brick trim. This contrast alone is beautiful in itself. And yet the main charm of the house is given by the motley tiled finish. Photo from the site:

Generous use ceramic finishing with carefully selected polychrome is one of the characteristic features of the mansion and gives the building a special colorfulness. Here you can notice Muslim and Arab reminiscences in a bizarre mixture with original Catalan elements. Beige masonry natural stone interspersed with long belts of decorative 15 cm tiles decorated with a marigold pattern ( Tagetes erecta) . Side facade of the house, photo from the site:

A checkerboard pattern of white and green ceramic tiles breaks up the patterned galleries of marigold tiles. Photos from the site:

According to Gaudí himself, he found the floral motifs he used for the ornaments of Casa Vicens directly on the site allocated for construction: “When I took the first measurements of the site, the ground under my feet was completely covered with those same yellow flowers- marigolds, which I used as a decorative motif for ceramics. The lush palm tree was also here, and it inspired me to create ". There is also information that tiles depicting yellow marigolds were made at the request of the customer himself, Manuel Vicens. Fragment of tiles, photo source:

On the balcony of the main bedroom, above the dining room veranda, there is a row of tiles with a relief pattern in the form of leaves and open flowers. sunflowers. There are many fascinating theories about Gaudí's use of sunflowers as a symbol. A willful and rebellious plant, the sunflower is a widely accepted symbol of the soul. In the 1870s and 80s this flower was very fashionable in Britain. For example, this motif was used by the outstanding English ceramic artist William Friend De Morgan (1839-1917). Oscar Wilde, who spoke of this flower as a "bright emblem of constancy", was caricatured as a sunflower. And the English designer ( Thomas Jekyll) (1827-1881) made sunflower-shaped fireplace stands for his “peacock room”.

View of a balcony with a pattern of marigolds and embossed sunflowers (photo by the site’s authors):

In the design of the frieze of the veranda in front of the dining room, Gaudí emphasized the fact that the house was built in an idyllic corner of truly Catalan nature. On the northwest wall, in a shady corner, is carved a Catalan spell: “ Oh, l"ombra de l"istiu! - “Let there be summer shadow!” For the opposite wall, which faces the southeast and the rising sun, Gaudí chose a different saying: “ Sol, Solet, vine"m a veure (que tinc fred)" - an abbreviation for the Catalan spell "Sun, little sun, come and look at me, because I'm cold"; . Another saying is placed on the third side, opposite the dining room fireplace, it reads: “ de la llar lo foc, visca lo foc de l "amor"("flame from the hearth, long live the flame of love") (this fragment is visible in the above photograph).

Art Nouveau motifs are expressed in the elegant metal grilles used to decorate the balconies and windows of Casa Vicens. The author of the project was no longer Gaudi, but his successor de Martinez. Details of the side facade with double windows and balconies (photo sources):

In the pattern of the grilles you can see plant motifs characteristic of Catalan Art Nouveau, as well as images of bizarre creatures and, first of all, dragons (photos from the website).

In addition, in the garden of Casa Vicens attracts attention a vase for flowers in the Art Nouveau style. This wonderful vase was made by Barcelona ceramics artist Pujol i Baucis ( Pujol i Bausis) (1858 - 1960) . Photos of the garden and the vase (source):

3.4 Wrought iron gates and fencing with palm leaves

Currently the area is Vicens' house surrounded by a natural stone fence with wrought iron bars on top. Forged motif entrance gate And metal fence are open palm fronds - fan palm leaves Chamaerops humilis(Chamerops squat).

A wrought iron fence with a repeating palm leaf pattern shows the clear influence of the style Art Nouveau. Corner fragment of a fence with a lantern, photo from the site:

The clay model of this famous lattice is believed to have been created in the workshop of the Sagrada Familia by Gaudí's close friend, the sculptor Lorenzo Matamala Piñol (Lorenzo Matamala Piñol(1856-1927)), and was cast and forged from iron by the blacksmith Juan Onez ( Juan Oños), later participating in the creation of grilles for the Güell Palace. Illustration of a gate pattern from Gaudí's time and modern photography:

The design of the amazing iron gate of Casa Vicens with a stylized pattern of palm leaves is also a sign of Gaudí's fidelity to the Catalan traditions of working with iron. Let's not forget that Antoni Gaudi's father was a hereditary blacksmith (coppersmith). Gaudi mastered this art in his father's workshop.

The wrought iron fence separating the house from the outside world and the gate in the form of metal palm leaves - all this creates the impression of something intermediate between the city and the countryside, between a public building and a private house.

The corner section of the wrought iron gate of Casa Vicens and the lower row of the fence along the side facade of the house (photo from websites and):

Currently, a number of fragments of the palm lattice are located in the gate, as well as in the Gaudí House Museum in the same park.

3.5 Interior design of Casa Vicens: description and photographs

The interiors of the Vicens house are extremely rich in decor and amaze with the careful execution of every detail. Many of the interiors are perfectly preserved and have remained almost unchanged since Gaudi's time. The smoking room, dining room and lobby are especially well preserved.

It is in the interior design of the Vicens house that creative imagination Antonio Gaudi played out in full swing. He created a highly exotic environment for the entertainment of guests and hosts. Gaudi I made sketches of most of the interiors myself Casa Vicens including a dining room and the famous smoking room. IN interior design There are many arches, tiles and picturesque ornaments, which together create a bizarre, heterogeneous ensemble.

Modern researchers of Gaudi's work find it difficult to answer the question of what the architect was guided by when decorating the interior of the building - his own taste or the wishes of the customer. However, most art critics are inclined to believe that the cheerful eclecticism of the interiors most likely suits the tastes of the owner himself. One way or another, Don Vicens and Gaudí were friends and probably often discussed the project. It is known, for example, that in the 80s the architect was a frequent and welcome guest at Vicens' dacha in Alella. At the same time, there are suggestions that Manuel Vicens was brought to the brink of bankruptcy by Gaudí's extravagance.

The most interesting rooms from a design point of view are located on the ground floor of the house. The location of some rooms is indicated below, on ground floor plan of Casa Vicens(illustration based on and):

Just as the yellow marigolds decorating the outside of the building were a recreation of a real painting Gaudí saw on the site before construction began, so motifs of birds and tropical plants, actively used by him in interior design reflect the true natural world of this rural (after all, at that time it was still a suburb) corner of Barcelona. For example, in the rooms on the first floor there are sgraffito ornaments depicting marsh red flowers Butomus umbellatus and giant reed Arundo donax- precisely those plants that grew along the banks of the neighboring Cassoles channel, located on the site of the current street Av. Principe de Asturias .

Most generously decorated room in the house is dining room (dining room) with a number of characteristic elements of the Art Nouveau style (photo source).

The ceiling of the large dining room features large wooden support beams. General views of the dining room (photo from the website):

The wooden beams are supported by cantilevers, on the outer curved side of which carnation flowers are painted. The space between the beams is filled with intricate carved ornament, playing on the cheerful contrast of juicy green leaves and bright red clusters of cherries. Some sources indicate that these are actually the fruits and leaves of not cherries, but arbutus, or strawberry tree ( Arbutus unedo) made from painted papier-mâché (molded cardboard) (photos from sites and):

The walls up to the base are lined with wooden panels in warm brown tones or ceramic tiles. Further up, every inch not covered with painting is filled with ornaments depicting birds scurrying across the sky among falling autumn leaves.

The walls are also decorated with relief paintings using the sgraffito technique, reproducing dark green shoots ivy(Hedera helix) on a golden background. Photos from sites and:

The overall darkened background of the dining room, designed in a simple style, is contrasted light wall with a fireplace built into it, decorated with bright tiles depicting plants and birds. Doorways also painted with bird motifs: we see here a whole string of cranes and herons. The use of plant and animal motifs in the design of the fireplace and dining room interior(dining room) of the Vicens house (source):

The design of the dining room was conceived so that the space in the transition from corner to wall furniture was divided smoothly and variedly. Dining room with furniture partially built into the walls(photo, source):

Both the lobby and the dining room of Casa Vicens are decorated with wooden beams, the space between which is filled floral papier-mâché ornaments. This is the work of the Barcelona master Ermenegildo Angles ( Hermenegildo Miralles Angles). Due to its simplicity and unlimited visual possibilities, the papier-mâché technique was a great success at that time.

Lobby Casa Vicens with stained glass windows (photo source and, © Peter Aprahamian):

More stained glass windows at the entrance to the house (photo from the website):

One of the most original in the Vicens house is a small smoking room (fumador, sala de fumar), in which the ceiling is decorated with "honeycombs" reminiscent of the architecture of the Alhambra. This cozy refuge with beds, pillows, a hookah and a folding coffee table on legs in the shape of a horse's hooves has always evoked special admiration among visitors. In Gaudi's Spain, having a smoking room was an important attribute of well-being, so fashionable that even the royal family built themselves a smoking room in their palace in Aranjuez (old and new photos from websites and; as you can see, there are no more pillows or hookah):

The exotic smoking room, as if straight out of the Arabian Nights fairy tales, is richly furnished with ornamental decorations in oriental style. The “stalactites” of the false ceiling and lanterns decorated with Arabic script are characteristic elements Moorish architecture(photo from the site):

The upper part of the walls of the room is decorated with relief ornaments made of papier-mâché. The ceiling is decorated with an ornament of leaves and fruits of date palms. In this amazing, similar to stalactites or honeycombs ( muqarnas) alabaster false ceiling (dome) clearly demonstrated Gaudí's special gift for adapting architectural idioms to new construction methods.

Details ceiling and wall relief in the smoking room Houses of Vicens (photo source):

In the lower part of the room, the walls are covered with tiled panels depicting carnation flowers (other sources indicate that these are roses, and this is more likely to be true):

Of considerable interest is the design of another room on the ground floor of Casa Vicens. This is about veranda- gallery in front of the dining room.

Previous view of the veranda ( old photo from the site ):

The current appearance of the veranda (photo sources and):

Here Gaudi also came up with an original cellular ceiling, connecting two vaults painted using the “visual illusion” technique trompe l'oeil. There were also stained glass windows and the already familiar tiles with yellow marigolds (photo source).

The drawing on the ceiling of the veranda depicts the branches of palm trees (sources and):

The two adjacent vaults are also richly decorated with plant motifs (photo source):

In one of the small rooms on the ground floor, Gaudí also placed a striking pseudodome(false cupula) like those that were characteristic of the Baroque era. Effect optical illusions (trompe l'oeil) is achieved through skillful manipulation of perspective. When the observer looks at this magical ceiling, he gets a genuine feeling that it opens up into a blue sky full of fluttering birds (photo from the site):

The original furnishings of another room - the main living room, or salon; the furniture in this room was designed Not Gaudi (photo source):

Some contemporary photographs of other rooms of Casa Vicens (source):

Gaudí also partially designed furniture design for the house of Vicens. For example, it is believed that it was he who came up with this stylish corner cupboard(chest of drawers) (photo from sites):

Gaudi developed all the details of the mansion with special care, giving each element of the furnishings his own personal vision - starting from sliding doors to ingeniously designed locking devices made of gilded brass. Already in this early work, Gaudí’s responsible attitude to his work was evident, his desire to create an architectural ensemble in which every detail. The architect understood that there is nothing secondary in architecture, and did not ignore even the most seemingly insignificant practical aspects.

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Casa Vicens- this is a monument to exoticism. The combination of different types of materials such as brick, stone, cobblestone and ceramic tiles, as well as changes in texture, had a huge impact on the development Art Nouveau style. At the same time, this was the first and last time that Gaudí built a building whose appearance was not associated with the Catholic faith or Catalan mythology.

To everyone who is interested architecture of Barcelona and other cities of Catalonia And Catalan modernism in particular, we also recommend the following entries:

Used sources :

1. Giese Van Hensbergen. Gaudi is the bullfighter of art. Biography. /Trans. from English Goldberg Yu. - M.: Eksmo-Press, 2002.

7. Alexey Aslanyants. Barcelona. Afisha Guide. Poster Industries, 2007

30. H. Kliczkowski. Barcelona y Gaudí: la ruta del modernismo. A. Asppan S.L., 2004.

31. Aurora Cuito, Cristina Montes. Antoni Gaudí, Obra completa. Multilingual edition. A. Asppan S.L., 2002.

32. Aurora Cuito, Cristina Montes. Gaudí: complete works. Edition on English language. A. Asppan S.L., 2002.

(false cupula)

In 1883, Gaudí submitted for approval to the municipal office in Gràcia the design of a mansion for the ceramic tile manufacturer Don Manuel Vicens Montaner. Casa Vicens, whose construction used decorative 15-centimeter tiles as a defining modular element, was Gaudí's most exotic creation up to that time. The house not only gives us an idea of ​​the character of Vicens, who gave the architect complete freedom, but is also a successful publicity stunt. After getting to know Casa Vicens, ceramics become a highly desirable building material.

Even today, Casa Vicens, squeezed into a narrow street in Carolinas, with its green and creamy yellow tiles, always drawn blinds and tightly locked cast-iron gates, exudes an atmosphere of sleepy escapism. This is a safe haven. While inspecting the future construction site for the first time, Gaudi discovered a giant blooming palm tree surrounded by a carpet of yellow flowers; Birds scurried among its leaves in search of insects. Gaudi subsequently included all these motifs in the design of the house, and a huge metal web became an original canopy over the patio, effectively dispersing the sun's rays.

In the frieze of the dining room, Gaudí emphasized the fact that this private house was built in an idyllic corner of truly Catalan nature. On the northwestern wall, in a shady corner, a Catalan spell was carved: “Oh, la sombra de I"istiu!” - “Let there be summer shadow!” For the opposite wall, which faces the southeast and the rising sun, Gaudi chose a different saying: “Sol, Solet, vina"m a veure” - an abbreviation for the Catalan spell: “Sun, little sun, come and look at me because I'm cold."

In the garden, Gaudi built a small observation post made of brick - a mirador, which dominated a corner of this mini-estate with two separate fountains. One of them was built into a wall with an open gallery, and the second was a complex cascade made of brick that worked like a gateway. Its steps covered with parabolic arches invited the visitor to enjoy the pleasant view and feel the coolness of the waters of this quiet oasis.
The wall built along the perimeter was made of massive cobblestones and lined with plaster; the top stones were decorated with carvings. Casa Vicens today is a slightly modified version of Gaudí's original. In 1883, the district of Gràcia, whose population had quadrupled in the second half of the nineteenth century, was still largely a suburb located on the outskirts of Barcelona. There were still large undeveloped areas on the city's borders. For example, just behind Casa Vicens on Gran de Gracia Street there was a medieval rural estate. Nearby, work has just begun on the construction of the chapel of the monastery of the Sisters of St. Vincent. But today Casa Vicens is obscured by neighboring buildings. His gardens, which were the basis of Gaudí's original project, were constantly shrinking as subsequent owners of the house sold them piece by piece. Nevertheless, Casa Vicens remains Gaudí's first mature creation, executed in the neo-Mudéjar, or neo-Moorish style.

Name:

Location: Barcelona, ​​Spain)

Creation: 1883 - 1888

Style: Spanish modernism, Mudejar

Architect(s): Antonio Gaudi

Customer / Founder: ceramic tile manufacturer Manuel Vincens Muntanera

Architecture of the Vicens mansion

Casa Vicens was Antoni Gaudí's first significant work. Located on Carolines Street, it was built between 1883 and 1888 by order of the ceramic tile manufacturer Manuel Vicens Muntaner. The Mudejar style - often used by Barcelona architects during this era - dominates this building, in which the combination of ceramic tiles and brick creates an exceptionally powerful expression.

When examining the house, one must keep in mind that when it was built it was a mansion with a garden, located on open space Barcelona suburb of Gracia, and was perceived somewhat differently. Dense urban development came here later, snatching away a piece of the garden, and now the building stands among others on a narrow street, having lost part of its sculptural expressiveness, since only the main facade remains accessible for viewing.

The mansion is designed as summer residence. The building has four levels: a basement, a ground floor and two residential floors, on which a storage room, living rooms, bedrooms and servants' rooms are respectively located.

Gaudi has thought out everything so that it is pleasant to be here in the summer: spacious, well-ventilated rooms, a large garden, which used to be artificial waterfall and the St. Rita Fountain, demolished after part of the site was given over to the construction of other houses.

The Casa Vicens, Gaudí's first major work, is distinguished by its structural simplicity, the predominance of straight lines and a clear orientation towards Arabic architecture, manifested in the use of cellular stucco indoors and brick outside.

The massive walls of the building are made of stone, the ceilings on the lower level are supported by horizontal masonry vaults, and on the remaining floors by wooden rafters.

Finishing elements include multi-colored ceramic facades depicting local plant species in combination with white and green tiles, the design of a balcony overlooking the garden, the interior of a smoking room and a dining room, for which Gaudí designed some of the furnishings.

The building is included in the list of historical and cultural monuments of the city of Barcelona. in 1969 it was declared a monument of cultural and national significance. But despite all these more than deserved statuses, the mansion is still in private hands, and the owners, unlike those who were lucky enough to inherit Casa Batllo and, not without benefit for themselves, open it to public access, stubbornly refuse they wish to do the same, using it exclusively as their “home”. Moreover, several separate families live there, while the house is designed as a mansion, where a large proportion of the premises are for family use. You can't get inside; the shutters on the first floor are tightly closed. The most wonderful interiors are not available.

Nevertheless, due to the fact that this pearl of Gaudí is located on the way to Park Güell, if you go to it by metro (Lesseps station), the building is besieged knowledgeable tourists. And other Barcelona residents, apparently as a sign of protest against the current situation, when the national treasure is in the hands of a handful of petty and narrow-minded people, passing by, defiantly stick their smartphones through the wonderful “palm” lattice in order to take a photo or two and annoy the owners.