El Capricho – The Orientalist period of Gaudí in Comillas

Villa Quijano is a summer country house. It was built from 1883 to 1885, around the same time as Gaudí’s Casa Vicens and the Güell pavilions in Barcelona. In all three buildings, in addition to some early elements of modernism, there are above all clear references to the Mudéjar style.

The salient feature of the villa is the cylindrical lookout tower above the entrance portal, which in turn rests on four round columns. The tower is covered with colorful ceramic tiles. The tiles with their sunflower pattern can also be found on the rest of the façade, where they structure the exposed brick masonry as horizontal strips. The symbolism of the building not only includes allusions to nature, but also to the music.