🌿 The garden house where Gaudí found his voice

On quiet Carrer de les Carolines 20, far from the bustle of Passeig de Gràcia, stands Casa Vicens – Gaudí’s first major work and the seed of everything to come. Built between 1883 and 1885 for stockbroker Manuel Vicens i Montaner, it was conceived as a summer villa amid gardens fragrant with carnations and palms. Here, a young Gaudí blended oriental ornament, Mediterranean craft, and structural daring into a manifesto of his own style.

The façade dances with contrasts: checkerboard tiles of green and white, Moorish arches, exposed brick, and wrought-iron palm leaves that echo the garden once surrounding it. Ceramic sunflower tiles – designed after those growing on the property – bloom across the walls. Inside, painted ceilings shimmer with natural motifs, while wooden beams ripple like vines and the smoking room glows with blue and gold Moorish mosaics. Every detail, from the chimney caps to the handles, shows an artist learning to turn architecture into nature.

💡 Interesting Facts 💡

• Casa Vicens marks the beginning of Catalan Modernisme, predating even Palau Güell.
• Its design fuses Mudejar, Oriental, and Gothic influences with Catalan craftsmanship.
• The sunflower tile pattern was produced by Pujol i Bausis ceramics factory – one of Gaudí’s lifelong collaborators.
• Expanded in 1925 by architect Joan Baptista Serra de Martí, who respected Gaudí’s original vocabulary.
• Declared a UNESCO World Heritage Site in 2005 as part of the “Works of Antoni Gaudí.”

Mini-story: When Vicens saw the house complete, he invited Gaudí to dinner in its garden. Legend says the young architect served as host instead – explaining how each corner mimicked the landscape around them: earth, leaves, air, and sun turned to geometry.

Look closer: Chimneys dressed in colored tiles; ceilings painted with ivy; and a corner loggia where light filters through latticework like patterned shade in a palm grove.

Myth vs Fact: Often described as “Moorish,” the house isn’t Islamic revival – it’s Gaudí’s early experiment with global craft languages, from Granada to Japan, synthesized through nature.

✈️ Travel Tips ✈️

1️⃣ Address: Carrer de les Carolines 20 (Gràcia). Best light ≈ late morning for the tiled façade.
2️⃣ Metro: L3 Fontana or L4 Joanic (5 min walk).
3️⃣ Gaudí route: Start here for his youthful phase, then follow to Palau Güell and Casa Batlló to see the style mature.
4️⃣ Detail hunt: Palm-leaf wrought iron gate, sunflower tiles, smoking room ceiling, and the terracotta-blue chimneys.
5️⃣ Tickets: Entry includes access to interiors and garden; limited evening visits offer quiet atmosphere and guided tours.