Tuesday 17 December, self-guided visit & guided visit 50% off. Code: GAUDI50 (Limited to 300 uses and not applicable to already promoted visits).

Code: GAUDI50

1898

Casa Calvet

1898-1900

This housing project is Gaudí’s only work that won first prize in Barcelona’s annual artistic building contest, earning the medal in 1900.

This project involved remodelling a pre-existing building between party walls for the Hijos de Pedro Mártir Calvet textile manufacturers, which put their business on the building’s ground floor and basement. Following the housing model at the time, the owners’ home was located on the first floor while the other flats were intended for rent.

The magnificent first floor bay window is renowned for their decoration, emblazoned with the letter C, the owner’s initial, along with an olive branch and a cypress tree that symbolises peace and hospitality. Next to them is the coat of arms of Catalonia and two horns of plenty in the upper part, a sign of the family’s economic prosperity.

The top of the façade includes the busts of three of the holy martyrs: Saint Peter (the name of the textile company’s founder), Saint Gines of Rome and Saint Gines of Arles, both patron saints of the Calvet’s hometown.

In Casa Calvet, we can also see Gaudí as a designer, as he was responsible for designing the knockers, the peepholes of the homes, the doorknobs, the furniture and more.