This is a summer home commissioned by Máximo Díaz de Quijano to be built in Comillas, on the Spanish Cantabrian coast. Gaudí began the project in Barcelona without having set foot on the land, which turned out to be a long, narrow, and steeply inclined lot. Although this obligated him to make the house’s floor plan elongated, Gaudí took advantage of the unevenness of the ground to include three spaces: a half-basement to be used as a garage, a gound floor for the owner’s residence, and an attic for the domestic service.

On the highest side he placed the door of the entrance and a slender tower with a lookout from which one could see the sea. He also built the main facade with various outcroppings to accentuate its rhythm, and he covered the whole building with multicolored, glazed ceramic leaves and flowers, which gave it a happy, summery look. Gaudí also did the landscaping, building a garden with its respective paths and even a grotto.

The Díaz de Quijano home, which would be the most modern residence of the period in Comillas, was quickly christened “El Capricho” by the neighborhood, due to the capriciousness of its shapes and colors. With time, the building was abandoned and suffered a great deal of damage, until in 1988 it was restored by its owners. It currently houses a restaurant.
Item of Cultural Interest since 1969.