Modernisme in Barcelona through Gaudí: La Pedrera

I’ve said it before in my main post about Barcelona: this wonderful city has its own unique style, and it is in part because of modernisme, the Catalan art neouveau. This artistic movement was born in the end of the 19th century around the time of the First Barcelona World Fair, and it was used as a representative of Catalan identity. Although it is best known for its architectural expression, with Antoni Gaudí in the forefront, this movement was also present in other arts, like literature, sculpture, theater and painting. This movement happened all around Catalonia but its center was clearly Barcelona, and you can still see the bohemian elegance of this style all over the city.

As I mentioned, Antoni Gaudí was the greatest exponent of Catalan Modernism, so I will go through his main works in the city. However, there are many examples of modernism from other artists around the city that are worth a mention and are less overflown by tourists. You can check them out in my route through modernisme:

→ Route through Modernisme in Barcelona

Casa Milà: La Pedrera

Casa Milà, popularly known as La Pedrera (the “stone quarry”) due to its appearance, is also one of the most popular buildings by architect Antoni Gaudí.

The iconic façade is made of limestone and follow a continuous curve that mimicks waves, and it is complemented by ironwork for the balconies and doors. Even while being his last project as a private residence, this design caused a lot of controversy, especially the ondulating façade. It’s popular name La Pedrera (“stone quarry”) was actually the “mean nickname” that was used by the people criticizing it.

One of Gaudí’s innovations, similar to that in Casa Batlló, is that he introduced courtyards, two in this case. These were built to improve lighting and ventilation of all 16 apartments.

The apartments were also built in an innovative way. Instead of load-bearing walls, he constructed pillars that allowed for an open space and an irregular distribution of the apartments. One of the apartments, which also avoid straight lines and are inspired by sea motifs (pay attention to the ceilings, mimicking the marks of the waves in the sand), can be visited and preserves some of the furniture of the time. The attic or loft has a similar structure to that in Casa Batlló, with several catenary arches.

The rooftop is probably its most recognizable feature, since its chimneys and ventilation towers have been widely used as a symbol of the city. It also offers fantastic views to Passeig de Gràcia.

The entrance fee for La Pedrera is also quite steep (25€ as well), but you can buy discounted tickets for 22€ here. During summer weekend nights they also offer Jazz evenings on the rooftop terrace for 35€, which also includes one drink and a visit to Espai Gaudí (attic) .

Closing statement

Discover other modernist jewels here:

→ Modernisme in Barcelona through Gaudí: Casa Batlló

→ Modernisme in Barcelona through Gaudí: Sagrada Família

→ Modernisme in Barcelona through Gaudí: Parc Güell

Or keep reading about the wonders of Barcelona in our general post:

→ Top 10 things to do in Barcelona

Barcelona is a fantastic city and one of its most special features is the presence of modernisme and, in particular, the work of the great architect Antoni Gaudí. Make sure you don’t miss this experiences by buying the tickets for these attractions in Tiqets.com and skipping the lines here:

In particular I recommend purchasing the Barcelona Card if you are interested in visiting some of the city’s museums and attractions. With this card you get free entrance to many museums and attractions as well as unlimited use to the public transport for an amount of time as well as transport from and to the airport. It also includes a discount coupon booklet that you can use for other attractions, tours and entertainment of the city.

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