7 Glass Mosaics Around the World

That Take Design to New Heights

Palau de la Música Catalana, Barcelona, Spain
Built between 1905 and 1908, architect Lluís Domènech i Montaner’s Catalan Art Nouveau
masterpiece is listed as a UNESCO World Heritage Site and boasts a monumental stained-
glass-and-mosaic ceiling.
Shah Cheragh, Shiraz, Iran
Shah Cheragh, a funerary monument and mosque, is also known as the Emerald Mosque
because of its mesmerizing mirror-mosaic ceiling and the shimmering chandeliers that hang
from it.
Galleria Vittorio Emanuele II, Milan, Italy
Built between 1865 and 1877 at the intersection of two streets, this sprawling arcade is
regarded as the oldest shopping mall in Italy. The crown jewel of the arcade is its soaring
164-foot-tall octagonal glass dome, located at the very center of the complex.
Hotel d’Angleterre, Copenhagen, Denmark
Hundreds of thousands of pieces of glass comprise the mosaic ceiling of the d’Angleterre’s
Palm Court, making it the largest ceiling of its kind in Northern Europe. It was designed by
Italian glass artist Albano Poli, whose other mosaic credits include a blown-glass rose
window at the Santa Croce Basilica in Florence and mosaics in the Vatican Gardens.
Tiffany Dome at Macy’s, Chicago, USA
High above the makeup department on the first floor of Macy’s in Chicago sits the largest
Tiffany mosaic in existence. Originally commissioned for the Marshall Field’s department
store (acquired and renamed by Macy’s in 2006), Tiffany’s magnum opus is comprised of 1.6
million pieces of iridescent glass.
Four Seasons Hotel Gresham Palace, Budapest, Hungary
Guests of this Art Nouveau treasure, located on the banks of the Danube River, are greeted
by a sprawling white-and-aqua-blue glass atrium in the hotel’s lobby. The glass ceiling,
described by the hotel as “a true labor of love,” was designed to enclose what was originally a
horse-and-carriage drop-off for the palace.
Nasir Al-Mulk Mosque, Shiraz, Iran
Also known as the Pink Mosque, the Nasir Al-Mulk Mosque features a sprawling
presentation of candy-color glass mosaic ceilings, accentuated by kaleidoscopic stained-glass
windows and rainbow-hued carpets.