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Concept
Azulejo
Summary
Azulejo (aθuˈlexo, ɐzuˈleʒu, ɐzuˈlɐjʒu; from the Arabic al-zillīj, الزليج) is a form of Spanish and Portuguese painted tin-glazed ceramic tilework. Azulejos are found on the interior and exterior of churches, palaces, ordinary houses, schools, and nowadays, restaurants, bars and even railways or subway stations. They are an ornamental art form, but also had a specific functional capacity like temperature control in homes.
There is also a tradition of their production in former Spanish and Portuguese colonies in North America, South America, the Philippines, Goa (India), Lusophone Africa, East Timor, and Macau (China). Azulejos constitute a major aspect of Spanish architecture and Portuguese architecture to this day and are fixtures of buildings across Spain and Portugal and their former territories. Many azulejos chronicle major historical and cultural aspects of Spanish and Portuguese history.
The word azulejo (as well as the Ligurian laggion) is derived from the Arabic الزليج (al-zillīj), zellij meaning "polished stone" because the original idea was to imitate the Byzantine and Roman mosaics.
The Spanish city of Seville became the major centre of the Hispano-Moresque tile industry. The earliest azulejos in the 13th century were panels of tile-mosaic known as alicatados (from قَطَعَ), known as zellij in Islamic architecture. Tiles were glazed in a single colour, cut into geometric shapes, and assembled to form geometric patterns. Many examples can be admired in the Alhambra of Granada. This tradition was continued for a time in Mudéjar architecture in Spain (e.g. in the 14th-century sections of the Alcázar of Seville), and has been perpetuated to this day in Morocco.
When former Muslim-controlled territories came under Christian rule in Spain, new techniques of tilemaking developed from the older Andalusi traditions. As wealthy Spaniards favoured the Mudéjar style to decorate their residences, the demand for mosaic tilework in this style increased beyond what tilemakers could produce, requiring them to consider new methods.
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