Editing Casa Milà (section)

=== Critics and controversies ===
The building did not respect any rules of conventional style, for which Gaudí received much criticism. To begin with, the name "La Pedrera" is in fact a nickname assigned by the citizens who disapproved of its unusualness.<ref>{{Cite book|title=La Pedrera. Architecture and History|last=Huertas Claveria|first=Josep Maria|publisher=Caixa Catalunya|year=1999|location=Spain}}{{page?|date=May 2024}}</ref> The unique structure of the building and the relationship between the building's architect and Pere Milà became the object of ridicule for the people of Barcelona and many humorous publications of the time.<ref>{{Cite web|url=http://pedrerainedita.lapedrera.com/en/aportacions/satire|title=Satire (La Pedrera's untold stories)}}</ref>

==== Catholic symbols ====
[[File:Proyecto Virgen Milà.jpg|thumb|180px|A fragment from first drafts of the architectural plans from 1906, showing the sculptures mounted on the upper facade.]]
Gaudí, a Catholic and a devotee of the [[Virgin Mary]], planned for the Casa Milà to be a spiritual symbol.<ref name = "google224">{{cite book| author = Stephen Sennott| title = Encyclopedia of 20th-century architecture: A–F| url = https://books.google.com/books?id=opvy1zGI2EcC&pg=PA224| year = 2004| publisher = Fitzroy Dearborn| isbn = 978-1-57958-433-7| page = 224 }}</ref> Overt religious elements include an excerpt from the [[Rosary]] on the cornice and planned statues of Mary, specifically [[Our Lady of the Rosary]], and two [[archangels]], [[St. Michael]] and [[Gabriel|St. Gabriel]].<ref name="google224"/><ref name="gaudiclub1906">[http://www.gaudiclub.com/ingles/i_vida/pedrera.html La Pedrera (Casa Milà, 1906–1910)] Gaudiclub.com</ref>

However, the Casa Milà was not built entirely to Gaudí's specifications. The local government ordered the demolition of elements that exceeded the height standard for the city, and fined the Milàs for many infractions of [[building code]]s.<ref>''Gaudí: A Biography''; Gijs van Hensbergen; Harper Collins; pp. 214–216 {{ISBN?}}</ref> After [[Tragic Week (Catalonia)|Semana Trágica]], an outbreak of [[anticlericalism]] in the city, Milà prudently decided to forgo the religious statues.<ref name="google224"/> Gaudí contemplated abandoning the project but a priest persuaded him to continue.<ref name="gaudiclub1906"/>