Palau de la Musica Catalana
I've been slowly working my way through my pandemic-friendly architectural bucket list. I can't believe I've waited this long to visit the Palau de la Musica Catalana, a Catalan Modernist gem by Lluis Domenech i Montaner. Tucked into the dense Ciutat Vella neighborhood of La Ribera, it was originally designed especially for choral performances.
In the tradition of the world's great music halls, it is encrusted with ornament on every surface, in tile, trencadis and glass.
The main façade has a colonnaded balcony with intricate and colorful decoration. Each of the 14 columns is different.
Its proximity to the surrounding buildings and its richly built-up facades create arresting views of the city through layers of stained glass, columns and sculpture.
The main concert hall, lined with windows on its two long sides, is unexpectedly light-filled. It also has an incredible concave skylight made of intricate colored glass.
Around the stage, the muses are depicted using an unusual combination of relief sculpture, mosaic and trencadis (mosaic-like decoration using broken ceramics).
