Casa Llagostera, Art Nouveau residential building in Calle Mayor, Cartagena, Spain.
Casa Llagostera is an Art Nouveau residential building on Calle Mayor in Cartagena featuring three floors with continuous balconies, wrought iron railings, and colored glass panes decorating the facade. A textile shop occupied the ground level originally, while the upper stories contained twelve rooms each for residential use.
Built in 1913 for textile merchant Esteban Llagostera and designed by architect Victor Beltrí, this house emerged during Cartagena's economic expansion tied to World War I. The city's commercial growth at that time allowed prosperous merchants to construct grand new residences.
The ceramic decorations display figures of Minerva and Mercury alongside coats of arms from Cartagena, Murcia, Barcelona, and Manlleu, reflecting the owner's ties to multiple cities. These ornaments reveal the business and family networks that supported the textile merchant's prosperity.
The building sits on a main street in the historic center and is easily reached on foot, with the facade fully visible from the street. Visitors can observe the architectural details best from Calle Mayor and experience the Art Nouveau style without needing interior access.
A communication tower on the rooftop allowed the owner to exchange flag signals with his estate called Huerto de las Bolas located elsewhere in the city. This unusual feature reveals how a wealthy merchant used visual communication to stay connected with his property holdings.
The community of curious travelers
AroundUs brings together thousands of curated places, local tips, and hidden gems, enriched daily by 60,000 contributors worldwide.
