Bonus Gold
Watts Chapel near Guildford in Surrey – A golden terracotta girdle circles the interior with a series of flowers created by the village children. The altar gleaming in the gloom. More than 70 villagers worked alongside Mary Watts to create the tiles to help decorate the Chapel.
This is a bit of a cheat as the original post wasn’t written on this date, but in April 2017, however several people expressed a desire to have another look around this beautiful site in Barcelona so I hope Fandango doesn’t mind. The April date coincided with another post I wanted to return to.
This breathtakingly beautiful site is full of wonderful mosaics, colours, sculptures, windows, artistic design and architectural details from the modernist era.
First I will show you the map of the site again so you can see where the pavilions are situated and then we’ll take a stroll around the site.
After going through the entrance gate with our pre-booked tickets we found ourselves following the underground tunnel which brought us out just in front of the Casa D’Operacions (Sant Cosme and Sant Damia). For what felt like an eternity both my daughter and I were stunned into silence as we gazed around us. From the front we were already in awe of the craftsmanship we had seen, but we didn’t expect such beauty to continue so meticulously.
Now for the surprise. The interior of that marvellous Administration building which welcomes you to the site. I would imagine that simply walking into this building would immediately lift your senses. As for working here…
The magnificent staircase that leads up from the impressive foyer is a perfect example of the relationship between architecture and decoration.
The small cupola over the stairs is a stained glass skylight that fulfils one of the principles of Modernism: that of assigning a prominent role to light and colour. Something that Domènech i Montaner was master of.
The ceiling is made up of nine vaults resting on stone and marble columns. All the vaults are clad in pink-lilac rectangular tiles, arranged like sprigs.
The central vault features emblems of Barcelona and Catalonia, the cross of Barcelona Cathedral and the cross of Saint Jordi.
You can go up that magnificent staircase, where you will find a corridor of glass and stained-glass windows and a particularly dramatic hall where the ceramics and the stonework leave you with your mouth open.
You could spend a lot of time simply admiring the craftsmanship in this hall.
This is the last of my series on the Art Nouveau site. I do hope I haven’t bored you all, but it is a fascinating and very rare example of that style of architecture and it is admirable that the work carried out has been done to meet three fundamental criteria: recover the original constructions designed by Domènech i Montaner, transform the pavilions in to functional work spaces and apply sustainability and energy saving parameters.
Source: All the information in these Sant Pau posts is taken from the admission booklet.
How to get there:
Metro: L5 Sant Pau / Dos de Maig or L2 to Sagrada Familia and walk up Avenue de Gaudi
Bus: H8, 19, 20, 45, 47, 50, 51, 92, 117, 192
The front facade of the Surgery Pavilion (Casa d’Operacions) is incredibly elaborate with sculptures galore. The doorway features two angels by Paul Gargallo in that distinctive Art Nouveau style. Two spectacular open-mouthed winged dragons protect the emblems on the first-floor balcony and support the two lions that represent the Hospital de la Santa Creu and the City of Barcelona.
On the balcony above the entrance gallery there are several angels and the frontage is crowned by an angel with wings unfolded seemingly about to take flight. Two winged lions sit below.
And on the corners are winged monsters which symbolise the forces of the unknown world, of negativity and of death.
Finally another view of the site from the Administration Pavilion with the Surgery Pavilion in the centre and the open layout of the gardens. In front you can just about make out a replica of the cross which formerly stood in the middle of the Gothic cloister at the Hospital de la Santa Creu (1401).
Source: All the information in these Sant Pau posts is taken from the admission booklet.
How to get there:
Metro: L5 Sant Pau / Dos de Maig or L2 to Sagrada Familia and walk up Avenue de Gaudi
Bus: H8, 19, 20, 45, 47, 50, 51, 92, 117, 192
TRAVEL WORDS 