EXCLUSIVE 'THIS IS OUR NARNIA'

A 17th-century millhouse becomes a dreamlike home for Spanish actress Macarena Gómez, her husband Aldo Comas and their ever-growing menagerie

- 

Five years ago, Macarena Gómez and Aldo Comas left Barcelona in search of a more tranquil way of life for themselves and their young son, Dante.

Since then, the artistic couple haven't looked back, settling in the picturesque Alt Empordà region, just south of the Pyrenees, in northern Spain.

Here, they've converted a 17th-century millhouse – once their holiday home – into a full-time abode, a colourful, comfortable hub for their creative talents. With plenty of space and a riverside location, it’s also where they love to hike and ride, grow their own food and, above all, share their lives with an ever-expanding menagerie of animal friends, including a llama, alpacas, horses, dogs, peacocks and a parrot.

As they invite us inside, actress and producer Macarena and her husband, a painter and singer, tell us that this is where their happiness is most complete.

"It's like our temple," she says. "This is our retreat, our secret place, our Narnia... a lost paradise and a space for inspiration, where time doesn't exist, guided instead by the seasons and nature."

Aldo, tell us how you and Macarena met. I was travelling alone through South America while Macarena was there shooting [the Spanish] 2010 comedy thriller Neon Flesh. We met in a bar in Buenos Aires - I told her that she looked like Wednesday Addams and we got talking. We didn't see each other again until I played a concert in Madrid with my band, San Leon, and she appeared in the audience. We fell in love that same day.