Casino Militar, Melilla
On the North African coast, a whole city of Art Nouveau, built by a pupil of Gaudí: here is its officers’ club.
At a glance
Melilla, the Spanish enclave on the coast of Morocco, holds the second-largest concentration of Modernista architecture in Spain after Barcelona, much of it by Enrique Nieto, a pupil of Gaudí. The Casino Militar, the officers’ social club on the central square, is one of the set, designed with Emilio Alzugaray in the flowing Spanish Art Nouveau of the early 1900s.
Key facts
- Location: Plaza de España, Melilla
- Architects: Enrique Nieto and Emilio Alzugaray
- Built: early 20th century
- Style: Spanish Modernismo (Art Nouveau)
- Function: military casino / social club
History
When Melilla boomed as a garrison town in the early twentieth century, it rebuilt its centre in the latest style. Enrique Nieto, who had worked in Barcelona in Gaudí’s circle, settled here and gave the city scores of Modernista buildings.
The Casino Militar, the army’s social club, took its place among them on the Plaza de España. Together these buildings make Melilla an unexpected open-air museum of Art Nouveau on African soil.
What you see
The façade carries the curving lines, floral plasterwork and ironwork balconies of Spanish Modernismo, looking out over the palm-lined Plaza de España. Inside were the salons of an officers’ club. Set against the city’s fortress and the sea, it is Catalan-flavoured Art Nouveau transplanted to North Africa.
Practical information
- Open: a military club; exterior viewable from the plaza
- Cost: free to view from outside
- Best for: the Modernista façade on Plaza de España
- Time needed: 10–20 minutes
Getting there
The casino is on the Plaza de España at the heart of Melilla, a short walk from the old fortress of Melilla la Vieja and the port.
Nearby
- Plaza de España — the central square and its Modernista buildings
- Melilla la Vieja — the old fortified town above the port
Sources
- Wikipedia — Casino Militar de Melilla
- Ciudad Autónoma de Melilla / Melilla Monumental — building information
- Wikimedia Commons — image source and licence
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