Os Azulejos do Porto is a non-profit project to catalogue and preserve all the tiles architectures in Porto whose aim is to preserve this important heritage and make it known worldwide.
The history of architecture is inevitably linked to the ceramic covering sector. Since the middle of the 19th century the Portuguese started to cover their buildings with tiles, becoming since then the country in the world that has more examples of this art. The idea came to life in 2016, after Marisa Ferreira and Alba Plaza met.
Considering the vast number of different tiles that exist, Os Azulejos do Porto is a public digital archive in HD in constant growth. On their website, you can see the various styles: geometric, organic and floral along with the design categories: rotation, concentric and four dots. While doing so, they are researching the history of the tiles, identifying specific factories, dates and whatever they can obtain. In the 19th century, 19 ceramic factories across Porto existed, out of which six were the most important for producing tiles. Now, few artisans who still create tiles traditionally, either hand-painted or in relief, exist today as the remaining factories print quickly and cheaply.
All images credited to Os Azulejos do Porto
