Comillas: modernist architecture and maritime memory in Cantabria
Comillas combines a traditional center close to the sea with an exceptional set of architecture from the late 19th and early 20th centuries. Its transformation was linked to enriched emigrants in America and the patronage of Antonio López y López, first Marquis of Comillas. The villa allows us to observe how summer vacations, industry and social representation changed a coastal town.
History and identity
The patronage of the marquises attracted architects and artists related to Catalan modernism. The Sobrellano palace, the pantheon chapel and the Pontifical University dominate different points of the landscape. Antoni Gaudí designed El Capricho, a residence covered in ceramics and conceived for Máximo Díaz de Quijano, which today functions as a visitable building.
What to see
The route can connect the old square, the church of San Cristóbal, El Capricho and Sobrellano. The cemetery, situated above the ruins of a church, incorporates Josep Llimona's sculpture of the Exterminating Angel and offers views of the coast. The beach and the port remind us that Comillas also has a fishing history prior to aristocratic development.
Understanding the place
The monuments belong to different entities and require separate tickets or schedules. The distances are moderate, but there are slopes between the center, the university and the coast. In summer the demand for parking increases greatly. Reserving the main interiors and leaving room to walk through the core avoids turning the visit into a hasty succession of buildings.
Prepare the visit
Times, access conditions and transportation may change. Check the official pages linked from the source before traveling, protect heritage and leave home entrances clear. Source in local language.