Introduction
Most visitors to Barcelona photograph Casa Batlló and La Pedrera, then walk on. Two streets north, on Carrer de Còrsega, stands a modernista building that almost nobody stops for, and it is one of the strangest and best in the city. Casa Comalat has two façades, by the same architect, that look like they belong to two different buildings. Residents of Còrsega Residences see the quieter one every day.
Who built Casa Comalat?
Salvador Valeri i Pupurull completed Casa Comalat in 1911 for the businessman Joan Comalat. Valeri was a contemporary of Gaudí and openly influenced by him, but he was never part of the tourist circuit, which is exactly why the building has stayed so undisturbed. It was declared a cultural asset of national interest, the highest level of heritage protection in Catalonia.
Why does the building have two different façades?
The main front, on Avinguda Diagonal, is the formal one: carved stone, a swelling first floor, a curved crown. Turn the corner onto Carrer de Còrsega and the building changes character completely. Here the façade is a grid of coloured ceramic and timber galleries, lighter, almost playful, closer to a stage set than a street front. Valeri treated the back as freely as the front, which was unusual then and is rare now.
What is the best time to see it?
Late afternoon. The Còrsega façade faces south and the low sun picks out the glazed ceramic, which shifts from cream to green depending on the hour. The building is residential and not open to visitors, so the façade is the whole experience. It takes five minutes and it is one of the better five minutes in the Eixample.
What else is within a short walk?
Palau del Baró de Quadras, by Puig i Cadafalch, is two minutes away on Diagonal. Casa Batlló and La Pedrera are both under ten minutes on foot down Passeig de Gràcia. The Quadrat d'Or, the dense square of modernista buildings in the Eixample, effectively begins at this corner.
Casa Comalat stands directly across from Còrsega Residences. Request the dossier, or book a private visit.
FAQ
Where is Casa Comalat in Barcelona?
On the corner of Avinguda Diagonal 442 and Carrer de Còrsega 316, in the Dreta de l'Eixample, a short walk from Passeig de Gràcia.
Can you go inside Casa Comalat?
No. It is a private residential building and is not open to the public. The two façades are what you come to see.
Which modernista buildings are near Carrer de Còrsega?
Casa Comalat, Palau del Baró de Quadras, Casa Milà and Casa Batlló are all within a ten minute walk, which is part of what makes this stretch of the Eixample so sought after.
