VISITING BARCELONA | |
 CITY TOURS SELECTION
To La Pedrera it is possible to arrive from Plaza Catalunya walking on Passeig de Gracia. This singular building is almost at the end of this avenue, but the route is frankly pleasant.
On the way, in number 43 of the Passeig de Gracia, Casa Batlló (www.casabatllo.es), the jewel of the Catalan Modernism, is located.
The architecture of Gaudí reproduces the form of bones, trunks and branches. It is an organic architecture easily appreciated on the facade of Casa Batlló, that was also called the House of Bones. According to different interpretations, the legend of Sant Jordi is represented in it, the knight who killed the dragoon: its winding silhouette seems to represent the back of the dragoon; the tower represents the sword that is nailed in it; the roof tiles, the grudges; the colors of the facade, upper balcony, the rose; and the large windows of the noble plant, the bones of the unfortunate ones that the dragoon swallowed.
It is important to be kind not to pass away from this emblematic building, if one comes from the Plaza Catalunya, Casa Batlló is in the left sidewalk of this avenue. Ahead, on the right hand, in number 92, the spectacular Casa Milà (www.casamila.com), popularly known as La Pedrera for its strange form, is located.
In spite of its name, it is said that the waved facade represents the sea, whereas the back part, oriented to the mountain of Collserola, is less winding. Although, seeing it from the outside is a unique spectacle, it is recommendable to climb to the roof, if possible with a guided visit. In this open space one can apreciate the towers of ventilation and twisted chimneys with which Gaudí intended to facilitate the smoke exit by immitating its movement.
Taking a walk on the diferrent levels of the roof, one can easily observe ornaments of easy interpretation, such as the heart that ornaments the chimney oriented to Tarragona, his native land, or the tear printed on the chimney that looks towads the Sagrada Familia, the work that Gaudí already new he will not see finished.
Practically all the work of Gaudí is policromatic. In order to be able to create clear figures of lasting and vivid colors Gaudí used the technique of Trencadís, which consists of breaking ceramics pieces and fitting the unequal pieces as if they were part of a mosaic. This technique can be observed in the Pedrera, the Batlló House, the Sagrada Familia, the Vicens House and the Güell Park.
A curiosity: the floor tiles of the room of the floor of the Pedrera designed by Gaudí have octogonal form, like that of a panel of bees, and they are decorated with marine motifs. This same design was used to pave the sidewalks of all Paseo de Gracia. If one does not have the opportunity to visit the interior of a Gaudinian house, he can always look at the pavement of the avenue.
If the route tires and one is too lazy to return by foot to Plaza Catalunya, near the Pedrera Diagonal one can take the metro (L3), direction University Zone. It is only two stops.
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