Original text by Chiara Lanari, updated and completed by our editors.
Among the many traditions of Portuguese culture, artesanato, craftsmanship, is certainly one of the liveliest and best known. Many parts of the country produce some of the finest and most original objects, and buying them directly in workshops, markets or fairs is one of the pleasures of a trip to Portugal.
Ceramics and porcelain
Portugal has a great ceramic tradition. Vista Alegre porcelain, made at Ílhavo, near Aveiro, since 1824, is among the oldest and finest in Europe, and the factory has a museum. Caldas da Rainha produces the whimsical ceramics of Rafael Bordallo Pinheiro, with the famous cabbage-leaf plates, frogs and swallows. In the north, near Vila Real, the rare black pottery of Bisalhães survives, fired in kilns dug into the ground, recognised by UNESCO in 2016 as intangible heritage in need of urgent safeguarding. Then there are the painted earthenware of the Alentejo and the clay bonecos of Estremoz.
The Barcelos rooster
Portugal's quintessential symbol is the galo de Barcelos. Legend tells that a pilgrim on his way to Santiago de Compostela, passing through Barcelos, was wrongly accused of theft and sentenced to hang. He asked to be taken to the judge, who was about to eat a roast cockerel, and declared that, as proof of his innocence, the bird would stand up and crow. And so it did, and the pilgrim was saved; years later he returned to Barcelos and erected a monument to the Virgin and Saint James, still kept in the town's archaeological museum. Since then the rooster, usually black, decorated with colourful hearts and flowers and with a red comb, has been a symbol of justice, faith and good luck. They come in every size and colour, though most are still made around Barcelos, where every Thursday one of the country's largest weekly fairs is held, with ceramics, baskets, farm produce and crafts.
Azulejos
Beautiful and truly unique are azulejos, whose name comes from the Arabic az-zulayj, "small polished stone", and not, as is often believed, from the Portuguese azul, blue, even though blue is the dominant colour. They reached Portugal from Moorish Spain in the late fifteenth and early sixteenth centuries: King Manuel I, impressed by the Alhambra in Granada, had his palace in Sintra decorated with them. They are glazed, painted terracotta tiles decorating churches, houses, palaces, gardens and fountains.
At first geometric patterns prevailed, serving as wall coverings for interiors; then mythological, religious and battle scenes spread, and azulejos moved onto facades. In the seventeenth century polychrome tiles were made; from the end of that century and into the eighteenth, under the influence of Delft ware and Chinese porcelain, the best-known blue and white style took hold, with large figurative panels. After the 1755 earthquake cheaper repeating-pattern tiles spread, and in the nineteenth century tiled facades became typical of Portuguese towns. Today designs range from traditional motifs to contemporary art.
In Lisbon there are examples everywhere, in churches, on walls and houses. The Museu Nacional do Azulejo, in the former Madre de Deus convent, tells the story of this art from the fifteenth century to today: don't miss the great blue and white panel showing Lisbon before the earthquake, about 23 metres long. Splendid azulejos line the church of São Roque, the monastery of São Vicente de Fora and the Palace of the Marquises of Fronteira, with its garden. The Lisbon metro is also decorated with azulejos: each station tells a different story, with works by artists such as Maria Keil, its great inspiration, imaginary animals, traditional motifs and themes linked to the neighbourhood. In Porto the azulejos of São Bento station and the Carmo church are famous. To stop old tiles being stolen from facades, demolishing or selling historic azulejos is now forbidden: buy them from licensed shops or factories reproducing traditional designs.
Textiles, lace and embroidery
Much prized are wicker baskets (cestaria), the bobbin lace (renda de bilros) of Peniche and Vila do Conde, and bordados, embroidery, including the colourful work of Viana do Castelo, Castelo Branco silk embroidery and above all the exquisite embroidery of Madeira. Don't forget, for their beauty, the Arraiolos rugs and Portalegre tapestries, part of Portugal's great textile tradition.
The rugs of Arraiolos, a small Alentejo town, are hand-embroidered in wool on linen or jute canvas, a tradition documented since at least the seventeenth century. The first designs were influenced by Persian and oriental carpets; craftswomen still embroider them with the old techniques, and the town has an interpretation centre devoted to them. In Portalegre the tapestry workshop founded in 1946 uses a special stitch to make perfect reproductions of works by great Portuguese and foreign artists, now displayed in the town's Tapestry Museum.
Filigree, cork and more
Other typical products include gold and silver filigree from Gondomar and Viana do Castelo, with the traditional Viana hearts, cork goods, from bags to hats, and wooden spoons carved by shepherds. Many of these crafts can be found at the craft fairs held throughout the country.
See also the history of azulejos and calçada portuguesa.