La Pedrera

First on the to-do list for our visit was La Pedrera. Originally constructed as the Casa Milà between 1905 and 1911, what is popularly known as La Pedrera, or “The Stone Quarry,” was declared a UNESCO World Heritage Site in 1984. The rugged facade of the building is said to have been inspired by the mountain of Montserrat, while the apartments themselves resemble eroded cave dwellings.

Because of the curvatures in the architecture, the popular joke is that the new tenants would only be able to have snakes as pets! Gaudí described the building as “more luminous than light,” and while it was his last secular commission, critics have declared it among his best.