The Casa Amatller incorporates a digital museum dedicated to modernism

The complex formed by Casa Batlló, Casa Amatller, and Casa Lleó i Morera divided Barcelona residents when the three buildings were erected on Paseo de Gràcia, with the walls recently demolished. The city, accustomed to controversy, did not know which of the three to choose as the most beautiful, so it became known as "the apple of discord." It is still difficult to know the locals' answer, but tourists have overwhelmingly opted for Gaudí's work, dedicating all possible selfies to it and invading the street to try to get a good perspective, regardless of the crowds.

The neighbor of this mass phenomenon, Casa Amatller, has decided to add a new attraction to its offer to see if it can steal some photos from Gaudí's undeniable masterpiece. It has done so by incorporating a digital museum that explains, precisely, anecdotes such as that of "the apple of discord." Through virtual reality and immersive videos, the space tells the story of modernism that so fascinates international visitors. Not everything is screens, and the museum also includes original objects from the Amatller family, originally from Molins de Rei.

Even Pilarín Bayés has left her signature, with drawings of the members of the saga behind Chocolates Amatller, acquired in the early seventies by Simón Coll. The popular cartoonist has also dared to portray the great names of this artistic movement, such as Gaudí and the architect of Casa Amatller himself, Josep Puig i Cadafalch. She has even done so with a great dignitary always present in any Barcelona debate, Ildefons Cerdà. At this stop, the little ones can take the opportunity to color their drawings while taking a break from the visit.

The new digital museum, inaugurated this Thursday, has an area of 2,000 square meters. It has been developed under the artistic direction of Layers of Reality, the studio behind the Centre d'Arts Digital IDEAL Barcelona, and has involved the participation of some twenty digital artists. It will follow the same schedule as Casa Amatller, open every day of the year from 10 in the morning to 10 at night. It will have a general price of 14.5 euros (Monday to Friday) and 18.50 euros (weekends), an amount that will be added to the cost of visiting the modernist house. Soon, a combined ticket will be offered.

In addition to a first floor that tells the history of modernism with videos, original pieces, and drawings by Pilarín Bayés, there is a second floor that will be dedicated to annual exhibitions. The first is dedicated to dragons, analyzing their history through a 360º immersive room, where a 25-minute film is projected, and a virtual reality room, where one arms oneself with good glasses and strolls through the Amatller house and the city on the back of a dragon.