In which Cantabrian town is Gaudí's villa El Capricho?
Answer
Comillas
Gaudí’s villa El Capricho is in the Cantabrian town of Comillas.
The building’s formal name is Villa Quijano, after its owner Máximo Díaz de Quijano, a wealthy lawyer and returning emigrant who had made his fortune in Cuba. Gaudí designed the summer residence in 1883, and construction took place from 1883 to 1885 under the direction of Cristóbal Cascante, a colleague of the architect.
El Capricho belongs to Gaudí’s early Orientalist period. Its design combines exposed brick, colourful ceramic tiles, wrought iron, Islamic and Mudéjar influences, and a striking cylindrical tower resembling a Persian minaret. Sunflower motifs on the tiles are among its most recognisable features.
Visitors sometimes confuse Comillas with Barcelona because most of Gaudí’s best-known buildings are in Catalonia. El Capricho is in Cantabria and is one of the architect’s relatively few works outside Catalonia. It later became a museum devoted to the villa and its architecture.