Sgraffito buildings in Barcelona
Routes 22/01/2025
Barcelona's architecture is a true delight for the senses, with a wealth of styles and details that surprise at every turn. The vast majority of locals and tourists who visit the city walk around looking at shop windows, the ground, their mobile phones or any other place, forgetting that, just by looking up, Barcelona offers a great open-air museum with centuries-old art.
One of the most striking details that adorn the city's facades is the sgraffiti , which stands out as true works of art in the open air, displaying the skill and creativity of the master craftsmen who created them. The city has more than 1,500 sgraffito buildings, distributed mainly in the neighbourhoods of Eixample, which houses around 800; Ciutat Vella and Gràcia, which reflect the historical and artistic evolution of Barcelona.
What is sgraffito and why is it so special?
Sgraffito is a technique that involves applying several layers of mortar of different colors on a surface and then scraping off the top layer to reveal the underlying color and create a design. This art form is not only decorative, but also functional, protecting the facades of buildings. This type of wall covering often takes the form of borders, garlands, borders, floral motifs, figures or even more modern advertisements and designs. Its use is usually limited to exterior walls, although sometimes it can also be found on interior walls, mainly in hallways.
In Barcelona, sgraffito reached its peak during the Modernisme period, although its use dates back to earlier periods. While some Modernist architects such as Antoni Gaudí did not use it frequently, others such as Puig and Cadafalch took it to its fullest expression, contributing to this technique becoming part of the city's artistic legacy.
However, this technique was born in Italy, hence its name which comes from the Italian word “sgraffiare” which means “scratch with a stylus” and it experienced great fervour during the 15th century in Florence.
The book “Sgraffito Barcelona”
Lluís Duran is the author of the book “Barcelona Esgrafida” published in 2023. This photographer and graphic designer by profession, after retiring, began to travel around the city with his camera to document this decorative technique and, at the age of 80, he published his meticulous tour of 158 engravings, out of more than 1,500 that exist.
The book is organized by neighborhood and provides maps with the location of each building and detailed technical specifications. To make the reader's experience more interactive, QR codes are also included to make it easier to locate the buildings.
To find the most beautiful sgraffito buildings in the city, we invite you to walk around it, looking carefully at its facades. In any corner you can find an incredible work of art that most of the city's inhabitants probably have no idea about.
This decorative technique evolved over the years. Initially, it was more realistic scenes or images, where a specific situation could be perfectly recognised. A clear example of this type of sgraffito could be that of Carrer Tallers 69, in Casa Tarné, dating from 1779, where you can identify the classical columns, vases of flowers and in the centre the drawing of the fountain with the “ou com balla”.
Valentí Pons - Pobles de Catalunya | Sgraffito Casa Tarné (Tallers, 69)
In Ciutat Vella you can find numerous examples of these wonderful sgraffiti. Although as we mentioned before, with the outbreak of Modernism in the 19th century, the Eixample was filled with sgraffiti everywhere. It is in this area of the city where we can find more examples of this technique, however, the motifs change quite a bit and adapt to the style of the time, loaded with flowers, leaves, animals, human figures and lots of colour. Clear examples of the most colourful modernist sgraffiti could be these three:
- Casa Granell (C. Pàdua, 75)
- Casa Salvador Oliveras (C. Anglí, 88)
- Antoni Pàmies House (C. Enric Granados, 5)
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During the modernist period, all these details were also mixed with more patriotic symbols representing Catalonia, as is the case on the façade of Carrer Aribau 130, where geometric and floral details can be seen together with the senyera, all in a reddish and yellowish tone representing the flag and the colours of Catalonia.
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But sgraffito has not only been used in the city for decorative purposes, it has also been used for advertising and/or commercial purposes, as is the case in Passeig Lluís Companys 19 (Casa Joan Pla), where the Rull sanitary products company advertises itself on this mural:
At Carrer Olot 82 you can also find another sgraffito of this style, in this case it is believed that it was used in ancient times to indicate that an electrician had his shop on the ground floor.
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These are just some of the most famous examples. If you'd like to discover more buildings decorated with this technique, take a look at our personalized map , so you can take a tour of the city without missing any:
Map of Sgraffito Buildings | Sensation Apartments
The sgraffito technique has left an indelible mark on the physiognomy of Barcelona, bringing elegance and uniqueness to its buildings. Recognising and preserving these "urban tattoos" is essential to keeping the city's rich architectural history alive.
One of the most striking details that adorn the city's facades is the sgraffiti , which stands out as true works of art in the open air, displaying the skill and creativity of the master craftsmen who created them. The city has more than 1,500 sgraffito buildings, distributed mainly in the neighbourhoods of Eixample, which houses around 800; Ciutat Vella and Gràcia, which reflect the historical and artistic evolution of Barcelona.
What is sgraffito and why is it so special?
Sgraffito is a technique that involves applying several layers of mortar of different colors on a surface and then scraping off the top layer to reveal the underlying color and create a design. This art form is not only decorative, but also functional, protecting the facades of buildings. This type of wall covering often takes the form of borders, garlands, borders, floral motifs, figures or even more modern advertisements and designs. Its use is usually limited to exterior walls, although sometimes it can also be found on interior walls, mainly in hallways.
In Barcelona, sgraffito reached its peak during the Modernisme period, although its use dates back to earlier periods. While some Modernist architects such as Antoni Gaudí did not use it frequently, others such as Puig and Cadafalch took it to its fullest expression, contributing to this technique becoming part of the city's artistic legacy.
However, this technique was born in Italy, hence its name which comes from the Italian word “sgraffiare” which means “scratch with a stylus” and it experienced great fervour during the 15th century in Florence.
The book “Sgraffito Barcelona”
Lluís Duran is the author of the book “Barcelona Esgrafida” published in 2023. This photographer and graphic designer by profession, after retiring, began to travel around the city with his camera to document this decorative technique and, at the age of 80, he published his meticulous tour of 158 engravings, out of more than 1,500 that exist.
The book is organized by neighborhood and provides maps with the location of each building and detailed technical specifications. To make the reader's experience more interactive, QR codes are also included to make it easier to locate the buildings.
To find the most beautiful sgraffito buildings in the city, we invite you to walk around it, looking carefully at its facades. In any corner you can find an incredible work of art that most of the city's inhabitants probably have no idea about.
This decorative technique evolved over the years. Initially, it was more realistic scenes or images, where a specific situation could be perfectly recognised. A clear example of this type of sgraffito could be that of Carrer Tallers 69, in Casa Tarné, dating from 1779, where you can identify the classical columns, vases of flowers and in the centre the drawing of the fountain with the “ou com balla”.
In Ciutat Vella you can find numerous examples of these wonderful sgraffiti. Although as we mentioned before, with the outbreak of Modernism in the 19th century, the Eixample was filled with sgraffiti everywhere. It is in this area of the city where we can find more examples of this technique, however, the motifs change quite a bit and adapt to the style of the time, loaded with flowers, leaves, animals, human figures and lots of colour. Clear examples of the most colourful modernist sgraffiti could be these three:
- Casa Granell (C. Pàdua, 75)
- Casa Salvador Oliveras (C. Anglí, 88)
- Antoni Pàmies House (C. Enric Granados, 5)
During the modernist period, all these details were also mixed with more patriotic symbols representing Catalonia, as is the case on the façade of Carrer Aribau 130, where geometric and floral details can be seen together with the senyera, all in a reddish and yellowish tone representing the flag and the colours of Catalonia.
But sgraffito has not only been used in the city for decorative purposes, it has also been used for advertising and/or commercial purposes, as is the case in Passeig Lluís Companys 19 (Casa Joan Pla), where the Rull sanitary products company advertises itself on this mural:
At Carrer Olot 82 you can also find another sgraffito of this style, in this case it is believed that it was used in ancient times to indicate that an electrician had his shop on the ground floor.
These are just some of the most famous examples. If you'd like to discover more buildings decorated with this technique, take a look at our personalized map , so you can take a tour of the city without missing any:
The sgraffito technique has left an indelible mark on the physiognomy of Barcelona, bringing elegance and uniqueness to its buildings. Recognising and preserving these "urban tattoos" is essential to keeping the city's rich architectural history alive.
