Azulejo

Azulejo from the Arabic al zellige is a form of Spanish and Portuguese painted tin-glazed ceramic tilework. Azulejos are found on the interior and exterior of churches, palaces, ordinary houses, schools, and nowadays, restaurants, bars and even railways or subway stations.

They were not only used as an ornamental art form, but also had a specific functional capacity like temperature control in homes.

There is also a tradition of their production in former Spanish and Portuguese colonies in North America, South America, Goa, Africa (Angola and Mozambique), and in the Philippines.

They still constitute a major aspect of Portuguese architecture as they are applied on walls, floors and even ceilings. Many azulejos chronicle major historical and cultural aspects of Portuguese history.

The word azulejo is derived from the Arabic الزليج (az-zulayj): zellige, meaning "polished stone" because the original idea was to imitate the Roman mosaics.

This origin shows the unmistakable Arab influences in many tiles: interlocking curvilinear, geometric or floral motifs. The craft of zellige is still in use in the Arab world in two main traditions the "Egyptian Zalij" and the "North African Zellige", the latter being the most famous.

The Spanish city of Seville became the major centre of the Hispano-Moresque tile industry. The earliest azulejos in the 13th century were alicatados (panels of tile-mosaic).

Tiles were glazed in a single colour, cut into geometric shapes, and assembled to form geometric patterns. Many examples can be admired in the Alhambra of Granada. The old techniques of cuerda seca ('dry string') and cuenca developed in Seville in the 15th century.

These techniques were introduced into Portugal by king Manuel I after a visit to Seville in 1503. They were applied on walls and used for paving floors, such as can be seen in several rooms, and especially the Arab Room of the Sintra National Palace (including the famous cuenca tiles with the armillary sphere, symbol of king Manuel I).

The Portuguese adopted the Moorish tradition of horror vacui ('fear of empty spaces') and covered the walls completely with azulejos.

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