Portuguese Pavements

The history of mosaics dates back years and years, and can be seen all over the world. From floors made out of these elegant patterns to decorated walls, mosaics were brought over to the UK long ago, and always make a big impression when used in a house.

If you are interested in the history of the mosaic, you should read our blog post series about it here and here.

Now that you’ve read all about the history of the mosaic tile, we want to draw your attention all the way to Portugal, and to their pavements especially.

“Portuguese pavement” refers to a traditional style of paving that is used for a lot of the pedestrian areas in not only Portugal, but also Olivença and all throughout the old Portuguese colonies like Brazil and Macau.

This video shows the pavements in all their beauty. These pavements are still created by hand to this day. There is no other way to achieve such a stunning piece of work that has the same amount of charm and charisma that these mosaic pavements have.

In Coimbra, there’s a pavement that’s the image of Saint Elizabeth of Portugal. It’s designed with black and white stones, basalt and limestone, and is quite possibly the most distinctive use of this paving technique.

Each stone is hand prepared by extremely skilled Portuguese workers, and then carefully and manually placed in position to create the desired look and finish. Then the pavement has a layer of cement mix applied to finish it off. The final, impressive result shows hours of extremely hard work.

If we’ve inspired you, and you’re looking to embrace some Portuguese and mosaic culture, you will love the look of our mosaic bathroom tiles. These tiles are perfectly designed to work in your bathroom and stand the test of time and everything a bathroom will throw at them… especially water. Contact us now on 01772 258998 to talk to a member of our staff.