Sunday, August 28, 2011

Passeig de Gràcia & Casa Batlló




Sender: Amapola11
Casa Batlló, Passeig de Gràcia


Passeig de Gràcia is Barcelona's most elegant avenues and one of the best architectural walks in the city with lots of Modernist buildings. Aside from being one of the best places to see Catalan Modernist architecture, this avenue is one of the major streets for shopping in Barcelona. All national and international fashion houses have their boutiques here.

Casa Batlló is one of the two great buildings designed by Antoni Gaudi on Passeig de Gracia, the other being La Pedrera. From the outside the façade of Casa Batlló looks like it has been made from skulls and bones. The "Skulls" are in fact balconies and the "bones" are supporting pillars. Gaudi used colours and shapes found in marine life as inspiration for his creativity in this building e.g. the colours chosen for the façade are those found in natural coral. The building was designed by Gaudi for Josep Batlló, a wealthy aristocrat, as an upmarket home. Señor Batlló lived in the lower two floors with his family and the upper floors were rented out as apartments.

Antoni Gaudí i Cornet (25 June 1852 - 10 June 1926) was a Spanish Catalan architect and the best-known representative of Catalan Modernism.

I am lucky that this card reached me safely as the ink Amapola11 used to write with has started to fade and I could not read much of the card, even my address. But maybe Mr Postie knows that I am the only postcrosser in my area? :)

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