El Capricho de Gaudi

 

During our trip to the north coast of Spain, we took a day trip from Santander to the town of Comillas for the express purpose of touring a villa designed by famed architect Antoni Gaudi.

Most of Gaudi’s work is located in Catalonia and his most iconic design is the famous Sagrada Familia in Barcelona.

 

El Capricho was built between 1883 and 1885. It was commissioned by Máximo Díaz de Quijano, a wealthy lawyer and fan of music and botany. As would be expected, Gaudi’s design incorporated elements paying tribute to these interests. One really senses the soul of Maximo is a part of the building.

Tragically, Maximo passed away just a few months after completion of the project.

 

The building passed on to his wife and son who did some renovations in the early 1900’s but then fell into disrepair after the Spanish Civil War.

In 1977 the family sold the property to a businessman who renovated it and turned it into a restaurant. The restaurant operated from 1989 until 2009, however, due to economic circumstances, the restaurant was then forced to close.

 

In 2010 it reopened its doors as a museum and was voted World's Best Landmark in 2023 at the Remarkable Venue Awards.

Having toured other Gaudi buildings during our visits to Barcelona, many of the design elements here were very familiar to us and one can immediately recognize this building as a Gaudi.

Overall an enjoyable morning visiting this unique property.

Salud!