 | Panel 7 |
Gaudí's inspiration
“The architect of the future will be based on the imitation of nature, because it is the most rational, durable and economical of all methods.”
Antoni Gaudí
Gaudí was inspired by pine cones and fish scales to make the roofs of his buildings. Overlapping relatively small pieces from bottom to top ensures protection against the elements: water and wind.
Gaudí reproduces the forms he sees in nature in glazed ceramics and gives them colour. Gaudí’s colours, the chromatic range he uses, are the fruit of the light that he perceives in Riudoms, the light that Gaudí calls Mediterranean.
Follow in Gaudí’s footsteps
Right now you are reliving Gaudí’s footsteps in the town where he was born. Nowhere in the world can you see the same light, breathe the same air, see the same colours, touch the same objects of nature and enjoy the same temperature that turns this land into a continuous spring, as the Romans used to say.
Riudom Centre
This manor house was built in 1731. The property belonged to the Moragas family until 1886, when the Carlist centre bought the house to convert it into a recreational society. It is plausible to think that the young Gaudí, influenced by his family, often took part in the Centre’s activities. The organisation continued to be active until 1953.
The Gaudí Family and Riudoms
The ancestors of Gaudí at Riudoms were widowed on more than one occasion and second marriages were held. From all the marriages, there were numerous children, although many did not reach adulthood. In 1700, Josep Gaudí Oriol married Vicenta Coll Noguera, the daughter of an Argentinian, in Riudoms. One of his sons, the heir Josep Gaudí Coll, is cited by Antoni Gaudí Cornet’s biographers as the “squanderer” of the family fortune and they especially point out that he did not give his children an education. He also dedicated himself to politics before dying in 1732, becoming the main alderman of Riudoms. In 1749, his son rented out a fishmonger business and some years later rented the common oven.