Gaudi house in Comillas, a visit to “El Capricho”

A Gaudi creation, outside of Catalonia, yes, a house in Comillas, Cantabria. We were very close and we had to see it! After having seen several of his creations in Barcelona, we had no doubt that it would be a very unique construction, unique like all the ones he made. Let’s see what was a visit to Gaudi’s “El Capricho” (or rather the caprice that he had ordered).

Information to visit the Capricho de Gaudi

How much is it?
7 euros (buy your tickets in advance here)

Which are the schedules?
In July-August, from Monday to Sunday from 10:30 AM to 9 PM, from March to June and from September to October from 10:30 AM to 8 PM and from November to February from 10:30 AM to 5:30 PM

Can you take photos?
Yes

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A little bit of history

The owner of the property was Máximo Díaz de Quijano, who had returned from America with a lot of money, a lawyer by profession and a fan of plants (something we could observe during the visit). Being established in Comillas, very far from Catalonia, we wondered how a Gaudí creation got there. We have the answer when we see who knows who, it turns out that Mr. Máximo was the brother-in-law of the Indiano (that’s what were called those who returned enriched from America) Antonio López y López. In turn, Mr. Antonio, who was the Marquis of Comillas, was the father-in-law of the Catalan businessman Eusebi Güell, who was Gaudi‘s main sponsor (remember one of his creations bears the surname Güell). And that was how the contact was made.

At first the residence had the name “Villa Quijano”, but later it was named “El Capricho” because it was so original… and why not say it, so Gaudí. It was built, between 1883 and 1885.

After going through periods of abandonment, going from being a restaurant, passing through the hands of a Japanese group, since 2010 it became a museum and opened its doors to the public in 2010. We hope that it will continue like this, so that many people can visit the Capricho de Gaudí.

Curious fact: the architect who actually worked on this project, following Gaudí’s design, was Cristóbal Cascante Colom, and it is said that Gaudí probably never set foot in Comillas to see how his work turned out.

Our visit to Gaudi’s house in Comillas

The outside

At the beginning of the visit, the first thing they invite us to do is watch a presentation video about the place. Very good to put us in context of the time. Then we come face to face with the house, the Gaudí style is seen, but at the same time it is totally different from everything we saw of him before. One of the elements that is obvious is the tower. Which, we would have the opportunity to see more closely during the visit.

Just before entering the main door, we see the columns that are under the great tower. In those columns we can observe the detail of several sculpted doves and flowers. Something that you have to turn up to see them, we had not seen them until we observed a guide who mentioned it to a group that was visiting.

Something that is impossible to ignore are the sunflowers, which are arranged like a chessboard next to green tiles.

Inside

The interior contrasts with the exterior, as it is a bit more sober, with plain, light colored walls and wooden floors and doors. Just as we enter we can see the greenhouse that Mr. Máximo had and at that moment we could see a lot of plants. There we realize that his fondness for botany was as great as the space he dedicated to the greenhouse 🙂

The visit allows us to see the different rooms and the beautiful stained glass windows, in which we saw figures of animals. In general it is a house full of life, despite the fact that today it is empty.

On one of the balconies, we were able to sit on one of the metal benches that literally left us suspended in the air. Very original, in a building designed by Gaudí anything can happen 😀

The attic and the chairs

On the upper floor we find the attic, which was the area for service personnel. Today we can find furniture made by Gaudí, for example here is a chair and a mirror. But much more can be seen.

Looking closely at the tower

You can also go out, being on that floor, and thus we have the opportunity to see the tower from a closer angle. We can see the chess of sunflowers and observe the metal details in the highest part.

When we left we stayed for a while observing the caprice and we even met a nice puppy that very kindly posed for the photo 😀 it looked like a cute stuffed animal!

A worthwhile visit: Gaudi house in Comillas

If you are passing through Cantabria, be sure to make a stop in Comillas to visit this house created by Gaudi, a characteristic that can be seen in the buildings of the famous architect.

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