Carrer Nou, 20
Miquel Parera i Partegàs, from Mataró, sought admiration and notoriety among his fellow citizens, which is why he wanted his house on Carrer Nou to be like no other. So in 1894, he opted for a young local architect, hardly known at the time but who was already beginning to make a name for himself, Josep Puig i Cadafalch.
The structure of the building and the façade are simple, but several elements make it unique. The façade harmoniously integrates various elements of neo-Gothic style, floral and vegetable sgraffito, exposed brick and wrought iron. The windows on the first floor are framed with small carved corbels with mythological figures such as dragons, goblins and jesters. Popular mythology and references to medieval Catalonia are resources constantly used in the works of Puig i Cadafalch. And the second-floor balconies are crowned by stone blocks sculpted with the family coat of arms and the year of construction, by Eusebi Arnau.
Here the architect achieved what the owner wanted, as the press of the time echoed the admiration that the outside of the house caused in the people of Mataró.
