Història Archives | Casa Vicens

12/11/2020

It’s our third anniversary!

On 16th November 2017, Casa Vicens, Gaudí’s first house, opened its doors to the public. After being used as a private residence from 1885 until 2014, and after three years of thorough restoration and rehabilitation, in 2017 this UNESCO World Heritage Site was finally able to be enjoyed as a place to discover the origins … Read more

06/08/2018

Middle Eastern-Style Architecture in Gràcia

In the mid-19th century, the city of Barcelona was deeply interested in Middle Eastern culture. This taste for the Middle East coincided with a moment when the city was expanding and its new bourgeois class was gaining strength. This was reflected in the construction of new buildings with an eclectic style where the Arabic architecture … Read more

01/08/2018

Gaudí in Gràcia: collaborations with Aleix Clapés

Casa Vicens is the first house that Antoni Gaudí built in the city of Barcelona, specifically in the Vila de Gràcia. A few years after the Gràcia’s annexation into Barcelona, Antoni Gaudí carried out another project in Gràcia, a lesser-known work by the architect but one which is especially interesting from the point of view … Read more

02/03/2018

Who was Mr Vicens?

Not much is known about Manuel Vicens i Montaner (1836-1895). We know that he was the one who decided to build a new summer home on the property that he inherited from his mother Rosa Montaner Matas in 1877, but little else. Who was this man who lived in Barcelona in the 19th century and … Read more

23/03/2017

Casa Vicens influences

If we take a leisurely stroll down the calle de les Carolines in Gràcia, we will suddenly find ourselves looking up at Casa Vicens and its multitude of ceramic tiles, colors, turrets, and arches. At first glance, it isn’t a building that our untrained eyes would be likely to associate directly with Antoní Gaudí. Its … Read more

06/02/2017

Casa Vicens, a single-family summer house designed for Manel Vicens in the Village of Gràcia (1883-1885)

Over its 130 years of history, Casa Vicens has solely been used as a residence, originally as a summer home and later as a first residence. It has undergone a succession of different changes and modifications – even being divided into different independent flats – with the goal of adapting it to the needs of … Read more