Stories, culture & place

Portugal: History, Culture & Art

12 Articles

Stories, places and cultural details worth looking a little closer at.

12 articles

Portuguese Azulejo Prints: Bringing Portugal's Tile Tradition Into Contemporary Wall Art Portuguese Azulejo Prints: Bringing Portugal's Tile Tradition Into Contemporary Wall Art Portuguese azulejo prints have a slightly awkward job. They are taking an art form built from glazed ceramic, architecture and hundreds of separate tiles and turning it into... Read the story How to Choose Portuguese Azulejo Wall Art for Your Home How to Choose Portuguese Azulejo Wall Art for Your Home Here is the bit people skip: choose the wall before you choose the print. I know. Not exactly the exciting part. But it saves you buying something you... Read the story Portuguese Kitchen Decor Ideas: Azulejos, Sardines, Lemons and Everyday Portugal Portuguese Kitchen Decor Ideas: Azulejos, Sardines, Lemons and Everyday Portugal A Portuguese kitchen does not need blue tiles on every wall, a ceramic cockerel on the shelf and a row of souvenir sardines to prove where the inspiration... Read the story Portuguese Wall Decor Ideas Inspired by Azulejos and Portuguese Culture Portuguese Wall Decor Ideas Inspired by Azulejos and Portuguese Culture If you want a wall to feel connected to Portugal, you do not need to fill it with every famous Portuguese symbol you can think of. Start with... Read the story How to Decorate With Portuguese Tiles Without Tiling Your Walls How to Decorate With Portuguese Tiles Without Tiling Your Walls You can decorate with Portuguese tiles without putting a single ceramic tile on the wall. The part worth borrowing is the visual language: repeated pattern, strong colour relationships,... Read the story How Portuguese Azulejos Became One of Portugal's Most Recognisable Art Forms How Portuguese Azulejos Became One of Portugal's Most Recognisable Art Forms If you look at one azulejo on its own, it is easy to think of it as a decorated ceramic square. Look at what Portugal did with thousands... Read the story Where to See Azulejos in Lisbon: A Guide to Portuguese Tile Art Where to See Azulejos in Lisbon: A Guide to Portuguese Tile Art Lisbon is one of the best places to understand Portuguese azulejos because you can see several centuries of tile art without leaving the city. A late-16th-century pattern inside... Read the story Portuguese Azulejo Symbols: Flowers, Animals, Fruit and Traditional Motifs Explained Portuguese Azulejo Symbols: Flowers, Animals, Fruit and Traditional Motifs Explained Once you stop looking at Portuguese azulejos as one big blue-and-white pattern, you start noticing all the individual things inside them. Flowers. Birds. Fruit. Ships. Saints. Coats of... Read the story Portuguese Tile Patterns and Their Meanings Portuguese Tile Patterns and Their Meanings Portuguese tile patterns can look a bit like a secret code when you first start paying attention to them. You start spotting stars, flowers, vines, diamonds and little... Read the story Why Are Portuguese Tiles Blue and White? Why Are Portuguese Tiles Blue and White? Blue and white has become so closely connected with Portuguese azulejos that it is really easy to assume they have always looked like that. They haven't. Portugal was... Read the story What Are Azulejos? What Are Azulejos? What are azulejos, where did they come from, and why are they so important in Portugal? This guide looks at the meaning, history, colours, patterns and cultural importance... Read the story The History of Portuguese Azulejo Tiles The History of Portuguese Azulejo Tiles Portuguese azulejos have been around for hundreds of years, but they have never really stayed the same. The early tiles used in Portugal look completely different from the... Read the story