If you walk along the Passeig de Gràcia boulevard you can’t miss it: the colourful façade of Casa Batlló. The building’s frontage invites closer inspection. With its playful round windows and scaly roof, it has the aura of a fairytale castle. Its shapes and lines immediately reveal the identity of its creator: Antoni Gaudí, Barcelona’s most celebrated modernistic architect.
The house is named after its former owner, Josep Batlló y Casanovas, a rich textile magnate who commissioned Gaudí to renovate his home in 1904. The architect allowed his imagination to run wild and announced that he would create a paradise on earth. 2 years later, Casa Batlló had an extra floor and that wonderful façade. Significant changes were also made to the interior. There is hardly a straight line to be seen; Gaudí avoided these as much as possible in his designs. And Señor Batlló got exactly what he wanted: a remarkable house.