Casa Estrada (Tower of Spikes)

Passeig de Sant Pol, 55 | 17220 Sant Feliu de Guíxols, Girona
Coordinates: 41.7890240000, 3.0455790000 (map)

Casa Estrada, known colloquially as Xalet de les Punxes ("House of Spikes"), is one of the most conspicuous mansions lining up the promenade along Sant Pol beach. Unlike its neighbours, it boldly faces the street, not hiding behind garden greenery, and thus can be easily seen from any point on the beach. Its nine turrets—eight along the perimeter and one in the centre—inevitably attract the gaze and attention of the passersby who also can't help but notice the unkempt and shoddy appearance of the house as a whole.

Until 1890, when the construction of Casa Estrada began, this spot had been occupied by barracks where Pere Màrtir Estrada Cama (1841-1911), the local industrialist made wealthy by cork production, stored his boat and tools. Building the mansion took over 20 years and finished in 1912, after its commissioner's death.

Local historians have always wondered whether there was any connection between the nine turrets of the estate and the nine children of the owner, born between 1871 and 1883. The rumour goes that Pere Estrada dedicated each of the turrets to each one of his children but ostensibly some neighbours may have heard that the father himself denied it...

The Estrada family line is well-respected in Sant Feliu de Guíxols, whose history can be traced back to the 18th century. After Casa Estrada, in the short period between 1910 and 1915, the family managed to erect four more mansions on the boulevard Passeig de Sant Pol.

Casa Estrada was built in the heyday of the Catalan modernisme and its influence is easy to spot in the usage of the trencadís mosaic technique and decorations using nature motifs and ornaments.

In 2006, the structure received a spot on the list of cultural heritage objects of local interest. This status implies that the owner follows specific norms to maintain the appearance of the historic object.

In 2013, the municipality of Sant Feliu de Guíxols allowed the usage of mansions along Passeig de Sant Pol as tourist accommodation. The hustle and bustle around Casa Estrada was almost instant—its new owner conceived an idea of opening a luxurious hotel here.

However, the construction came to a halt barely a year after it started. Ever since then the locals and the visitors of Sant Feliu de Guíxols may witness the sorry state of the historic mansion that sits unoccupied and uncared for. At the same time, its shabby appearance is in no way threatening to the passersby so the municipality can't do much to compel the owners to keep it neater.