Above: Fábrica Sant'Anna, Lisbon, Portugal

The Moors introduced elaborate geometric tile work to Portugal when they ruled the Iberian Peninsula. But after the Reconquista, the Portuguese — no longer bound by Muslim laws against depicting figures — developed their own style of hand-painted tiles called azulejos. Lisbon façades frequently have expanses of colorful identical azulejos. But the art reaches its highest expression in mural-like compositions, usually done in blue and white (the Igreja de São Vicente de Fora in the Alfama has a particularly rich azulejo mural collection).

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