IN THE COUNTRY OF TILES
You can’t miss them, wherever you are in Portugal. Tiles travel across all-time
styles and languages and fill any pavement or visit with colour.
Al-zuleique is the Arabic word that became the Portuguese azulejo (tile) and
referred to the “small, smooth stone” used by Muslims in the Middle Ages. Their use
of tiles to decorate floors and walls pleased the Portuguese Kings and
subsequently won pride of place in architecture from the 15th century. We could say
that Portugal adopted them in an unparalleled way, like no other European country.