Portuguese Tile Museum

The country of Portugal is mostly famous for its vineyards all over the world but it is also necessary to net that the country boasts of an extremely rich historical and cultural heritage. This is primarily owing to the fact that since the ancient era, Portugal has been subjected to domination and interaction with various different civilizations from time to time which has had a positive impact on its culture. The Portuguese tiles or azulejos are brightly colored and exquisitely designed and they display a wide variety of historical events to teachings of the almighty and simple geometrical patterns as well. While the term azulejos has Arabic origins and was derived in Portugal after the Moors imported the term in the Iberian Peninsula, after the 15th century, a lot of Spanish influences have also been noted in the designing of these tiles.

The Portuguese azulejos derived their origin from Islamic influences and the first appearance of these polished tiles was noted in Egypt or erstwhile Mesopotamia. Since then the azulejos have been influenced by different other artistic works like those of the Italians and the Spanish. The immense popularity and cultural importance of the Portuguese tiles or azulejos have led to the formation of a Tile Museum in Lisbon which is also a very popular destination for tourists. This is because the Tile Museum treasures a rich history of the growth and development of the glazed tiles in Portugal and also displays some of the best tile artworks of the previous and present centuries. The Tile Museum is believed to treasure the history of the tile painting and their development across a period of five centuries. From the early 15th century tiles to the present, the Tile Museum has a splendid collection which is worth a visit. Various souvenirs are also available for the tourists which are replicas.