The Tiles of Portugal.
Whether you have visited the country or just seen pictures, the beauty of tiled homes and businesses in Portugal can be breathtaking, but why are they tiled?
FEATURED ON HOMEPAGETRAVEL
12/11/20252 min read
Museums we visited in Italy, Albania, Portugal, and France showed us that pottery use is thousands of years old. Clay and terre cotta jugs and dishes were made for survival, jewelry was made for fashion, and decorations were made for homes. The use of tiles originated in Egypt and Arab then invasions circulated the use of tiles into the Mediterranean and Portugal during the 13th century. In the 15th century during King D. Manuel I's reign, he became obsessed with the artistic side of tile seen in Spain and adorned the walls of the National Palace of Sintra with them.
Over time the tile designs have been influenced by the Moors, the Dutch, and Spain’s Seville. The Moors had a limited color palette available, so tiles were rather monochrome. The Dutch Delft Blue porcelain was inspirational and delighted many. As ceramic tile techniques evolved from the 15th-18th centuries, it was the Portuguese who defined the identity of the most famous Azulejos tiles, even though Spain was the original producer. Portugal was the primary global exporters of these rich Azulejos tiles until Puebla, Mexico took over.
It was in the 19th century when the tiles began to have benefits for external part of homes instead of just internal. Of course, tiles placed on the exterior walls of homes and businesses had an aesthetic value as they distinguished one from another along a row of connecting buildings. However, the tiles also had fire-resistant qualities and their insulating properties helped regulate home temperatures in the hot/cold mediterranean fluctuations. These structural benefits fueled the popularity of tiling the exterior of buildings.
Wandering the streets of a dozen towns across the Algarve of Portugal, we were mesmerized by the colors, patterns, and stories the home tiles displayed. As you can see in our story A Home with a Name, tiles are often used to display the names of the villas or casas. We want to tile our home now, do you?
