Spain - Barcelona - Palau Guell Arch
The street facade of the Palau Guell is adorned with some of the most amazing decorative ironwork so it's worrth the short walk along Nou de la Rambla from the Rambla despite only being partially open due to ongoing refurbishment.
From WIkipedia : "The Palau Güell is a town mansion (translated literally a "palace") in Barcelona, Catalonia, Spain designed by the Catalan architect Antoni Gaudí for the Catalan industrial tycoon Eusebi Güell. It is part of the UNESCO World Heritage Site "Works of Antoni Gaudí".
The home is centered on a main room for entertaining high society guests. Guests entered the home in horse drawn carriages through the front iron gates, which featured a parabolic arch and intricate patterns of forged iron-work resembling seaweed and in some parts a horsewhip. Animals could be taken down a ramp and kept in the livery stable in the basement where the servants resided, while the guests went up the stairs to the receiving room. The ornate walls and ceilings of the receiving room disguised small viewing windows high on the walls where the owners of the home could view their guests from the upper floor and get a 'sneak peak' before greeting them, in case they needed to adjust their attire accordingly.
The main party room has a high ceiling with small holes near the top where lanterns were hung at night from the outside to give the appearance of a starlit sky."
Spain - Barcelona - Palau Guell Arch
The street facade of the Palau Guell is adorned with some of the most amazing decorative ironwork so it's worrth the short walk along Nou de la Rambla from the Rambla despite only being partially open due to ongoing refurbishment.
From WIkipedia : "The Palau Güell is a town mansion (translated literally a "palace") in Barcelona, Catalonia, Spain designed by the Catalan architect Antoni Gaudí for the Catalan industrial tycoon Eusebi Güell. It is part of the UNESCO World Heritage Site "Works of Antoni Gaudí".
The home is centered on a main room for entertaining high society guests. Guests entered the home in horse drawn carriages through the front iron gates, which featured a parabolic arch and intricate patterns of forged iron-work resembling seaweed and in some parts a horsewhip. Animals could be taken down a ramp and kept in the livery stable in the basement where the servants resided, while the guests went up the stairs to the receiving room. The ornate walls and ceilings of the receiving room disguised small viewing windows high on the walls where the owners of the home could view their guests from the upper floor and get a 'sneak peak' before greeting them, in case they needed to adjust their attire accordingly.
The main party room has a high ceiling with small holes near the top where lanterns were hung at night from the outside to give the appearance of a starlit sky."