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| PORTUGUESE ART |
We recently spent a
month traveling through Portugal with a side trip to Santiago de
Compostela, Spain. This is the first in my series of a vintage
journey to the far western corner of Europe....
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| OLD TILE SHOP ENTRANCE |
As we started our
Sunday morning walk through the walled city of Faro, located in the
Algarve region of southern Portugal, we noticed a few people coming
out of an old building and decided to peak in. It was a shop filled
with brightly colored tiles (called azulejos in Portuguese) that
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| TILE SHOP STAIRCASE |
were
laid out in fascinating designs. These were the authentic tiles that
had been removed from buildings that were hundreds of years old and
were randomly displayed in artistic designs throughout the store.
Many were hung or just leaning against the walls. Others were
displayed on the staircase or lying flat on tables. One table was
piled with Portuguese architectural books for customers to peruse for
information about the tiles and to perhaps see where they originally
came from. There were a few boxes full of single tiles that were
priced at €15 each, but
most were not priced. Dates marked on some of the pieces were
17c-18c.
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| VINTAGE TILES ON DISPLAY |
We were there on a
Sunday, when all the other stores were closed. I expect that this
tile store was opened per a special customer request because it was
closed when we walked by later. The place was unique in that there
was not a visible name or obvious store front. It was located on a
street called Rua da Porta Nova in the old city.
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| TILED PANEL 16TH CENTURY |
As we were leaving
Faro that day we noticed an old abandoned building that had been stripped
of its tiles. This made me wonder if tile theft had become a concern
in Portugal. It turns out that over the last 20 years there have been
massive losses due to theft and lack of conservation. However,
efforts of the recently organized project, “S.O.S. Azulego,” have
cut the theft by 80% and increased regulations to help prevent the
demolition of the tile covered building facades.
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| TILED WORK OF ART ON PRIVATE HOME |
The Portuguese works
of art called Azulejos are beautifully displayed throughout the
country, similar to the frescos in Italy. They are more colorful in some areas than others. In Porto
they are predominately blue and white, whereas in the nearby town of
Aveiro (called the Venice of Portugal) the tiles are more colorful
with pinks, greens and yellows.
They can be seen on entire walls of
churches in immense religious scenes and in geometric patterns on
walls of homes. They frequently portray scenes from the history of
the country or simply serve as street signs or house number. Although
they are not a Portuguese invention (the use of glazed tiles began in
Egypt), they have been used more imaginatively and consistently in
Portugal than in any other nation.
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| AZULEJOS FACADE IN AVEIRO |
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