A Quiet Gaudí Encounter: At the Gates of Finca Miralles
A Hidden Gaudí Gem in Barcelona: Discovering the Forgotten Beauty of Portal Miralles in Sarrià
Tucked away on Passeig Manuel Girona, far from the congested pilgrimages to Sagrada Família or the selfie traps of Park Güell, I found myself standing alone before a strange, undulating wall. I’d come to see Portal Miralles—a small, often overlooked architectural fragment by Antoni Gaudí—and yet what I discovered was a portal not only to a vanished estate, but to a quieter, more experimental side of the famed architect.
There’s something disarming about seeing a Gaudí structure without a queue or an entry ticket. The gate—once the entrance to Finca Miralles—is modest in size but rich in gesture. It flows like a stone wave, covered in white trencadísmosaic, the broken tile work that Gaudí made his own. You see it curve and loop and almost breathe as if it’s half alive. The wrought iron crown is a four-armed cross—actually a replica; the original rests safely in the Gaudí House Museum in Park Güell. The ironwork, with its flowing lines, balances strength with delicacy—one of Gaudí’s enduring talents.
The original house and estate that this gate served are long gone—demolished in the late 1960s to make way for apartment blocks. All that remains is this gateway and a sliver of wall, a survivor of the relentless urban transformation that has reshaped Sarrià-Sant Gervasi. And yet, this small relic packs an incredible story.
Back in 1901, the industrialist Hermenegild Miralles commissioned Gaudí to design his private residence. A friend of Count Eusebi Güell, Miralles had previously bought the land from him, and initially, Gaudí was to design the whole house. But in the end, only the entrance was built by Gaudí himself, with the actual home executed by his assistant Domènec Sugrañes.
Still, Gaudí took the opportunity to experiment. He used the Miralles factory’s industrial presses to test materials—tests that would inform his later work on projects like Casa Milà. The sculptural forms here, especially the canopies over the carriage and pedestrian entrances, are uniquely constructed with metal and a curious turtle-shell pattern in fibrocement—an early example of Gaudí’s interest in new materials and their expressive possibilities.
The sinuous wall, once much longer, now frames just a short stretch of pavement. Behind the gate, apartment buildings have replaced Miralles’ home, but if you stand in the right spot and look at the wall’s curvature against the sky, it still feels like a moment suspended in time. Even the metal mesh that tops the wall seems almost organic—part vine, part net—half protective, half decorative.
In 2000, after years of neglect, the gate and wall were carefully restored. A bronze statue of Gaudí, by sculptor Joaquim Camps, was added around the same time. Today, it sits slightly slouched beneath the arch, sketchpad in hand, as if still designing. It’s a charming tribute. One almost wants to sit beside him and ask what he sees.
What strikes me most is the intimacy of the site. There are no crowds. No guards. Just a pedestrian street, a gate, and Gaudí’s ghost. This is his only work in the Sarrià neighbourhood, and one of his few truly small-scale commissions. But perhaps that’s why it lingers. Portal Miralles isn’t meant to overwhelm—it invites you in quietly, reminding us that the line between architecture and sculpture is as thin and fluid as Gaudí always believed.
I absolutely love your forays into "Gaudi World." Love Gaudi and didn't get enough of his works when in Barcelona. Which means, I must return! Thanks for incredible photos on all your work.
I visited Park Guell for the first time a few months ago and so enjoyed it. Will try and visit this smaller wonder on my next visit.