Gaudi in Cantabria

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Like so many other examples that have occurred throughout history, Antonio Gaudí's may also be another of those surprising cases of people who, regardless of the specific scope of their activities and in view of their open mind and ideas Innovative, they seem ahead of their time, earning recognition for their extraordinary work, many years after their death.

It is, perhaps, nowadays, when we have another perspective of things and, above all, of Art and Architecture, when we are really surprised and recognize, with absolute surrender, the work of this architect, who, although he was one of the main exponents of the so-called Reinaixença or Catalan Renaissance, did not have, in life, recognition, especially among his professional colleagues, for his grandiose creative vision, where he sought, in that fantastic natural geometry, the basic concepts that would contain, in essence, the fundamental organization chart of his architectural vision, to the point of making his brand or personal imprint unmistakable.

Actually, the architectural models of Antonio Gaudí outside the territorial scope of Catalonia are counted and possibly, due to this detail, not only his vision is so decisive, but also constitutes, without any doubt, a value that revalues, even more, if possible, the cultural and artistic aspect of the place where it stands.

This is the case of Comillas, whose attractive picturesqueness is inextricably linked to one of Antonio Gaudí's most emblematic and, at the same time, most disconcerting buildings: the one, which, located a short distance from the Old Town, bears, and not by chance, the curious name of El Capricho.

When we talk about Capricho, we are talking about a modernist-style mansion, conceived, in essence, as a true whim, in whose constitution, all those details, both geometric and natural, that characterize, in some way, all great creations can be appreciated. of Gaudi.

Its history, like the history of any human being, is still picturesque and contains a series of decisive events, which, in some way, constitute the foundations of a utility, not always in accordance with the primitive intentions of its conception. .

It was carried out, in a really short period, as is the one from 1883 to 1885, under the idea of Gaudí, although supervised by his assistant, Cristóbal Cascante, at the request and cost, as a vacation palace, of Máximo Díaz de Quijano, one of those curious characters, so common in Spain at that time, which were called 'Indians': people who emigrated to America, where, in some cases, they made a considerable fortune, returning later to their cities of origin, where they had the custom to build formidable mansions, to bear witness to their luck and opulence.

Located in what was once a magnificent chestnut forest -the chestnut, especially in northern Spain, was one of the many trees considered sacred by the ancient Celts- and unlike other buildings, in this architectural marvel, Gaudí He maintained, as always, great respect, using native materials, a detail that, after all, is still merely anecdotal, since it is obvious that his architecture is very different from the rest.

This, in addition, is felt inside, since having the opportunity to visit the interior of one of its buildings, entails, in some way, even metaphorically, the impression of entering, like the famous Alice, in a tiny but charming world of wonders, where everything is done based on a specific idea, such as, for example, the distribution of space based on the paths of the sun, the inclusion, inside the house, of a magnificent greenhouse -detail, which used to be a constant in the palaces of the time - the use of the fantastic spiral geometry, for the stairs to the upper floors and in particular, those complicated geometric details, which made the framework of the roofs, a world as fantastic as the keys that determined the setting of the pilasters in the great Gothic cathedrals.

Externally, we also find ourselves again with the typical fantasies of Gaudí's constructions, where the perseverance between the geometric and the natural, forms strange associations, not exempt, in any way, from a spectacular beauty and where we find ourselves, not only those solar references of some of the metopes and the corbels contained, both in the porticoed entrances of the palace, as in its capitals and metopes, but also, others, of a natural nature, such as the sunflowers and the acanthus -symbol, not only of immortality, but also peace, in the sense of harmony- all of them, revolving around a hexagonal plant, imitating the cells of bees.

As anecdotal data and ending, returning to the reference of the modern history of this unique building, add that it passed through various hands and uses, such as a restaurant, until, in 2009, it became a museum permanently. .

NOTICE: Both the text and the photographs that accompany it, as well as the video that illustrates it, are my exclusive intellectual property and, therefore, are subject to my Copyright.

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