La casa de los paraguas (the umbrella house)…

Located on the ramblas, halfway between the statue of Columbus and the Plaza de Catalunya, near the gran teatro del liceo, Barcelona's opera house, this singular building called the casa de los paraguas "the house of the umbrellas" attracts attention and all visitors stop to take pictures of the magnificent dragon that decorates the corner and forms the commercial sign of the old store.
It is the most photographed point of the ramblas after the statue of Columbus.



This house is called casa Bruno Cuadros the name of its owner at that time, and has a long history.

Bruno Cuadros rented an austere ground floor in this apartment building in 1854. His store of hats, parasols and fans was very successful and little by little he was able to buy the store and then the apartments on the upper floors.

In the 1880s everyone in Barcelona was talking about the Universal Exhibition of 1888 which would attract wealthy visitors from all over the world and the city undertook a lot of renovation work. The modernist movement was beginning and the bourgeoisie paid attention to the architecture and buildings decoration.

Bruno Cuadros contacted the architect Josep Vilaseca and asked him for a complete renovation of the building. During the works, from 1883 to 1885, all the apartments were renovated, a floor was added and the 3 facades were decorated in a spectacular way.

The decoration is an eclectic and colorful mix inspired by Egyptian symbols and references to Japanese culture. At that time these two countries were fashionable among intellectuals and the illustrious bourgeoisie but also referred to many objects imported from these countries by Bruno Cuadros and sold in his store. Representations of umbrellas and fans, Japanese prints and the most impressive, the huge Japanese dragon carrying a bamboo lantern and surrounded by an umbrella and a fan.



Renovated in 1980, the store is now a bank office.



-> Link to the architect Josep Vilaseca i Casanovas information in Wikipedia..

-> Discover this unique building during the Gothic Quarter tour