Cocoa made its way from south America via the conquistadores, and it was the Spanish court that first popularised the Aztec drink. Barcelona, which has important trade links with the Americas, became the centre of a burgeoning chocolate industry. The Casa Amatller on Passeig de Grącia was one of many mansions paid for by chocolate, thanks to the Amatller family business, established in 1797.Guided tours of the mansion offer a fascinating glimpse into the Modernista movement, the Amatller family, and the world of Catalan bourgeoisie at the end of the 19th century. Wealthi industrialist Antoni Amatller, grandson of the chocolate-making firm’s founders, bought a mansion on newly fasionable Passeig de Gracia and commissioned hot young architect Josep Puig i Cadafalch to remodel it into a showpiece home. The result is a heady fusion of neo-medieval styles and popular techniques such as tiling, ironwork and woodwork celebrated by the Modernista movement.