Private guided tour of Casa Vicens exclusively for Club Vanguardia

Last October 27, 40 guests of Club Vanguardia were able to enjoy a very special guided tour of Casa Vicens, one of the first architectural works of the master Antoni Gaudí.

Thomas Osborne
Thomas Osborne
04 November 2022 Friday 12:48
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Private guided tour of Casa Vicens exclusively for Club Vanguardia

Last October 27, 40 guests of Club Vanguardia were able to enjoy a very special guided tour of Casa Vicens, one of the first architectural works of the master Antoni Gaudí.

Located in the heart of the Gràcia neighborhood, Casa Vicens was the first commission that Gaudí received when he was only 30 years old. It was in 1883 when Manel Vicens i Montaner, a Barcelona stockbroker, commissioned the project that would become the family's summer residence in the town of Gràcia. Considered his first masterpiece, Casa Vicens is valued as a prelude to modernism and was included in UNESCO's privileged list of World Heritage Sites in 2005.

A visit organized by Club Vanguardia and which can be considered quite a privilege because, on a normal day, more than a hundred people can be simultaneously touring the rooms, corridors and of this wonderful house. For this occasion, 40 lucky people were able to connect with Casa Vicens in peace and feel everything that has been experienced there since the foundation stone was laid.

Divided into two groups of 20 people, the visit began inside the house, visiting the noble floor with the dining room, the tribune and the iconic smoking room, the first floor with the bedrooms of the Vicens and the second floor with the permanent exhibition, with many corners dedicated to entertainment and leisure with a polychrome ceiling that is a marvel and that reproduces palm leaves. At this point, the visitors visited the basement and the roof, a space of escape and contemplation full of Islamic and oriental references.

Casa Vicens is an important work in Gaudí's career not only because it was the first of many commissions received, but because we find a series of recurring elements in all his subsequent work, in some cases evolved, but always with this initial conception, this "Gaudí before Gaudí" as detailed on the house's website. In Casa Vicens, the architect applies for the first time all his previous background, influences and sources of inspiration to transport it to his own idea of ​​what a single-family home should be.

The visit ended, as it could not be otherwise, in the gardens of Casa Vicens, where the gastronomic space is located at one end and where a cocktail with appetizers awaited the 40 guests.

The current garden is the result of reflection and a detailed study of the atmosphere of the initial surroundings of Casa Vicens. The architect was already inspired by this, his first masterpiece, in the Mediterranean flora and fauna, which appears and takes center stage in the resources and all the interior decorations. What a wonder to visit in the intimate setting of an evening with closed doors and limited capacity.

Well into the night, subscribers enjoyed under the stars and the umbrella of Casa Vicens an exquisite veal tartare, salmon roe, cherry tomato tartlet, eggplant bonbon and duck mi-cuit. How could it not be otherwise, that night everything was on our land and the aperitif was garnished with wines and cavas from the DO del Penedès. Undoubtedly a unique day in which you could enjoy one of the most prestigious pieces of architecture in the Ciutat Comtal in an exclusive, relaxed and intimate way.

Gaudí said that the most important requirement for an object to be beautiful is that it fulfills the purpose for which it was conceived. This is how it was last October 27, a night where 40 subscribers were able to experience and feel the Vicens House for a few hours.