We visited the museum of azulejos (tiles) in Lisbon and have posted photos of beautifully tiled exterior walls. Many depict scenes plucked from Portuguese history and those are almost always blue and white. How did these things come to be? I never did explain. When Wynette (thank you, Wynette) posted a link to an article on the history of the tiles, I thought maybe others would be interested.
The short version is that King Luis I (reigned 1495 – 1521), who was responsible for a big chunk of the expansion of the Portuguese empire, visited the Alhambra in Granada, Spain and became enthralled with the beautiful tile work. He thought that Portugal could benefit by tiling it’s mostly plain walls.
Back then (early 16th century), religious laws dictated simple patterns. Over time, laws changed and so did the complexity of the tile patterns. In the 17th century, the upper crust of Portuguese society fell in love with the blue-and-white tiles of Delft (Netherlands) and began decorating everything in sight with these tiles.
In the late 18th century, king Pedro III ordered the halt of imported tiles and dictated that Portugal would produce its own.
Now there are tiled multi-storied buildings everywhere. Many are geometric or floral patterns of various colors. But churches, train stations and other government buildings tend towards blue and white elaborate depictions of religious scenes and events in Portuguese history.
Azulejos are everywhere you look.
São Bento train station, Porto. Reputed to be one of the best in the world.
Porto, on the street
Today we visited the Bank of Materials in Porto. A repository of tiles for builders and renovators trying to restore old buildings in their original style. If the repository has what they need, (tiles, door knockers or other decorative items) it can be had for free. The culture leans towards keeping the old architectural styles and decor intact.
The Bank of Materials
