Azulejos

Azulejos come from the Moorish period. Artful mosaics are created with the square, painted and polished clay tiles. Complex motifs can be depicted using the faience technique, which dates back to the 16th century. For this purpose, pre-fired clay tiles are used, which are covered with a tin glaze and then painted with a brush. There are completely white or blue tiles. The blue ones were mainly used in palaces and churches. Since the 18th century, azulejos can also be used outdoors thanks to an improved firing technique that makes them weatherproof. For this reason, many houses are covered with these azulejos and thus protect the facades permanently. In the old town of Faro there is still a small workshop where artistic azulejos are made by hand. This workshop still obtains the prefabricated tiles from North Africa, where this technique is still used. You can visit this workshop and make your own azulejos with your own motifs.