The Inspiration
The Balconies — The Masks
The balcony railings of Casa Batlló are one of the most enigmatic elements of its façade. Gaudí designed them with undulating, irregular shapes reminiscent of masks, to the point that the building has become popularly known as "the house of masks". Cast in iron as single pieces, they jut out slightly from the façade and seem to float above the surface of stone, glass and ceramic. Their ambiguous appearance, somewhere between the organic and the fantastical, helps turn the façade into an almost living universe, where every element invites new interpretations.
The Crown — The Four-Armed Cross
The crown of Casa Batlló is topped by a tower from which a four-armed cross emerges, oriented to the cardinal points — one of the most recognisable elements of the building's silhouette. Its presence blends with the undulating roof, clad in ceramic pieces reminiscent of an animal's scaly back. This composition has fuelled one of the most popular interpretations of Casa Batlló: the legend of Sant Jordi, in which the roof evokes the dragon's back and the cross may represent the hilt of the sword driven into it. Gaudí, however, never gave a definitive explanation of this symbolism, leaving the work open to the imagination.
