Gaudi's whim

This summer residence was built in 1883 by order of Máximo Díaz de Quijano, brother-in-law of the Marque de Comillas and under the direction of the architect Cascante Colom according to Gaudi's plan. The caprice consists of a semi-basement, floor and attic, with a side tower that stands out for its verticality in a markedly horizontal set. On the main floor there is a double-height living room, a dining room and a few rooms, while in the semi-basement and in the attic were the kitchen, the garage and other spaces for the service. On an impressive stone plinth, the facades show the alternation of horizontal strips of exposed brick and ceramic friezes with the plant motifs of the flower and the sunflower leaf, also present in the upper frieze, in the tower and in the headers of the openings. Above the entrance porch, formed by sturdy columns with curious capitals decorated with naturalistic representations of palm leaves and swallows, rises the lookout tower, inside which a spiral staircase leads up to the highest art, finished in a small temple. Both above the porch and at the top of the tower there is a circular iron railing with uprights that take the form of a whiplash and is decorated with vine leaves. Other outstanding elements are the iron balconies, which have wooden slatted benches to sit on and a canopy, also made of iron, and the sash windows, which, when opened or closed, sound with different tones, thanks to counterweights.