The Architect and the Spaniard Returned from the Indies

While we might consider that modernist concepts represented a true conceptual revolution in an era when architecture still fiercely adhered to its old constraints, and taking into account that Antoni Gaudí was one of the least understood and most criticized architects of his time, the dissemination of his ideas beyond Catalonia, though limited, left behind some projects that are by no means overlooked today.

One of the best-known examples, whose story could easily serve as the plot of a good adventure novel, is found in a remarkable and ancient town in Cantabria. Although somewhat removed from the port, the beaches, and, moreover, a coastline that never ceases to amaze, it is also linked to this migratory phenomenon, which, in essence, is a repetition of the mythical "hero's journey."

This journey is characterized by the exodus and return of a very special kind of emigrant and adventurer, known as an "indiano," who left traces of his flourishing adventure in his homeland.

Indeed, many are the "indianos," who, having made their fortunes in the most remote corners of South America, returned home, leaving behind for a posterity that failed to appreciate them for their true worth: fabulous mansions.

Many of these mansions, now uninhabited and threatening to collapse, carry with them fabulous legends, where, as one might expect, the supernatural is ever-present. Such was the genesis of one of the most emblematic mansions Gaudí built outside of Catalonia: a stately, modernist structure known as El Capricho.

It is not only one of the iconic buildings of the captivating town of Comillas, but also an invitation to delve into the brilliant recesses of Gaudí's subconscious, an adventure where architecture becomes a metaphorical and fascinating journey through the subliminal world of the archetype.

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