Typically, it’s the little, quirky issues that appear to seize the spirit of wherever we journey, so as we speak we thought we’d let you will have a peek into the distinctive road tile artwork of Lisbon, Portugal.
The tiles, appropriately known as Portuguese pavement or calcada portuguesa, are available many mosaic patterns. Even as we speak they’re painstakingly laid down by hand, following a course of created a whole lot of years in the past. We discovered these tiles in every single place on the streets of central Lisbon in an unimaginable number of creative patterns.
They’re certainly one of our favourite uncommon issues to see and do in Lisbon.
The origin of the Portuguese road tile is a bit onerous to trace down, although they first appeared in Lisbon close to the Castelo de São Jorge. They turned so fashionable that their use unfold rapidly all through town. At the moment, the tiles are discovered throughout Portugal, and even in former Portuguese colonies, together with Macau, Rio de Janeiro and São Paulo, Brazil.
Sadly, these tiled streets and sidewalks are at risk of disappearing. Not solely can they are often extremely slippery, there are fewer and fewer tradespeople concerned about studying the backbreaking artwork of sustaining these sidewalks.
Fortunately for all of us, they’re nonetheless fashionable in sure historic areas in addition to quite a few excessive finish areas in Portugal and overseas.
About Rue Augusta
The picture above was taken on Rue Augusta, within the busiest a part of Lisbon. Rue Augusta is a pedestrian solely road crammed with road cafes, flower stalls, bakeries and specialty outlets promoting all the pieces from footwear and hats to Portuguese ginjinha liquor. Many aged buildings, from the reconstruction of Lisbon by Marquês do Pombal after the 1755 earthquake, are nonetheless standing.
Extra Information
Try our Pinterest board on Portuguese road tiles, the place we’ve curated among the finest photographs of those road tiles from all over the world.
In the event you’re concerned about how the pavement is made, the Portuguese Pavements Handbook (Guide da Calçada Portuguesa) has an in depth take a look at calçada portuguesa, overlaying all the pieces from origin to detailed constructing specs.
Creating the calçada portuguesa is backbreaking work, and even as we speak the tiles are laid in a lot the identical means they have been a whole lot of years in the past. This video offers some concept of the backbreaking work required to create and keep Portuguese road pavement.
