Casa Batlló Museum: A Brief History of Casa Batlló

Casa Batlló is a modernist building located at Passeig de Gràcia 43 in Barcelona, Spain. The renowned Spanish architect Antoni Gaudí designed the six-story building at the request of the Batlló family, the property owners at the time. Design critics note that the style of the home is hard to categorize, but with its lack of straight lines, it's most closely related to art nouveau and twentieth-century Catalan modernism.

The Batlló house, which Gaudí completed in 1906, features a colorful exterior facade decorated with multicolor ceramic tile and glass. The interior has stained glass, curved walls, and a wooden staircase that seems to float into the floors above. Locally, it’s called Casa dels Ossos (House of Bones) because the exterior features delicate-looking structures that mimic a skeleton.

Considered one of Gaudí’s most important works, Casa Batlló is a United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) World Heritage site. The home, which now functions as an architectural museum, is open daily to the public.

Now an architectural icon, Casa Batlló started as a modest home on Passeig de Gràcia (or Paseo de Gràcia) in Barcelona, Spain. Here are some of the key moments in the history of the residential building turned museum:

• 1877: Emilio Sala Cortés, one of Antoni Gaudí’s professors, designs and builds the original Casa Batlló home at Passeig de Gràcia 43 in a modern but unassuming style.
• 1900: At Passeig de Gràcia 41, Spanish architect Josep Puig i Cadafalch builds Casa Amatller, one of three houses, along with Casa Batlló, on the street that known as Mansana de la Discòrdia (Block of Discord)—named for the striking visual contrast in the three homes, all created by leaders of the Catalan modernism movement.
• 1903: Josep Batlló i Casanovas, a prominent industrialist, purchases the home at Passeig de Gràcia 43 and seeks out Gaudí, known for his highly recognizable architectural style.
• 1904–1906: Gaudí completely renovates Casa Batlló, turning the ordinary city building into a one-of-a-kind masterpiece. Architecture historians credit Gaudí and his work at Casa Batlló with setting the direction for twentieth-century modernist architecture.
• 1905: Lluís Domènech i Montaner builds Casa Lleó Morera, the third of the Block of Discord homes.
• 1934: Josep Batlló dies. The Batlló family sells Casa Batlló in the 1950s, and a series of owners live in the residence until 1995 when the Bernat family, owners of candy company Chupa Chups, bought the home and opened it for limited public and private events.
• 2002: Casa Batlló opens to the public for tours.
• 2005: Casa Batlló becomes a UNESCO World Heritage site.

Antoni Gaudí created Casa Batlló in a modernist style that transformed architecture and paved the way for the creative Spanish modernist movement.

1. 1. The exterior façade of Casa Batlló glows at night. From a distance, the front windows of Casa Batlló appear as if they are hollow skulls placed within a colorful smattering of coral-colored stucco. The skulls are the balcony railings, formed in patterns that mimic a human skull. The shapes are most prominent at night when the interior lighting contrasts with the sculpted balconies. Shards of tiles and glass in shades that naturally occur in the Spanish seas cover the exterior walls.
2. 2. The interior blends art nouveau and modernist elements. The ground floor, which serves as an entry space, evokes an underwater environment, including skylights that resemble turtle shells. A staircase with carved wooden handrails leads to the first floor (the second story, referred to as the first floor in Europe), where there are windows made from elaborate stained-glass windows. The first floor, referred to as the Noble floor, is the main floor and was the main living area of the Batlló family. The Noble floor has vaulted walls and ceilings and large windows looking out onto the Passeig de Gracia. There are more nature-inspired shapes, like a fireplace resembling a mushroom and ceilings that look like swirling clouds. At the top of the house is a Mediterranean-inspired loft painted all white with 60 catenary arches, which evoke the ribcage of an animal.
3. 3. The roof arches like a dragon’s back. The roof terrace, located at the top of the building, features imaginative tilework and curved walls. The roof crest of green and orange rooftop tiles resembles the body of a dragon, and the roof tiles look like scales with a cross (or sword) in its back. The dragon imagery has led some to believe Gaudí built the home in homage to the legend of Saint George, the patron saint of Catalonia (Catalunya locally). According to legend, Saint George killed the angry dragon with his sword to save the city and its residents. Others interpret the colorful roof as an aquatic landscape, evoking Water Lilies, French Impressionist painter Claude Monet’s series of oil paintings.

You can buy Casa Batlló tickets online to skip the line or purchase tickets on arrival at the ticket office. The museum recommends you buy tickets ahead of time, as Casa Batlló is a popular tourist attraction, drawing 1 million visitors each year.

Visitors have the option of a self-tour with an audio guide, or you can take a guided tour. A visit takes approximately 60 minutes, which is enough time to tour the six floors inside the home and visit the rooftop terrace, famed for its tilework and sculpted walls.

Other nearby sites include Casa Milà, also known as La Pedrera (or stone quarry), considered one of the best examples of Catalan modernist architecture, and Casa Vicens, a house built in a lavish art nouveau style. Other Antoni Gaudí sites in Barcelona include Park Güell, Casa Calvet de Barcelona (one of Gaudí's earliest buildings), and the Sagrada Família basilica.

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