— — the city that holds its light differently.
“Lisbon climbs seven hills above the Tagus on its way to the sea. The old quarters — Alfama, Mouraria, the Bairro Alto — keep the medieval street plan intact, their façades faced in painted azulejos. Yellow trams take the steepest streets. The light off the river is the reason painters have come here for two hundred years. — from the studio
Each tile is finished by hand in our Knoxville studio. Artwork is slowly infused into the ceramic surface under high heat and pressure, and rests beneath a thin glossy finish. The colour lives in the surface, not on top of it.
Pick any four 4-inch tiles — National Parks you've been to, a Smokies set, the four seasons of one place. $ for a set of , cork-backed, ready to live on the table.
Lisbon is Portugal's capital and largest city, set on the right bank of the Tagus where the river broadens into its estuary before reaching the Atlantic. The metropolitan population is roughly 2.9 million; the city proper holds about 545,000. The historic centre rises across seven hills above the river, joined by funiculars and the city's surviving network of yellow trams. Lisbon is one of the oldest cities in western Europe, founded by Phoenician traders and held in turn by Romans, Visigoths, Moors and the Portuguese crown from 1147.
Lisbon's light is the working subject of two centuries of painters. The city faces south-west across a wide river estuary, so afternoons hold long, almost horizontal sun against limestone façades and the white-and-blue azulejo tile that faces much of the old city. The Tagus itself reflects a second sky upward. In summer the sun does not fully set until past nine; in winter the low angle picks out every detail of the seven hills. The Miradouro de Santa Catarina opens west toward the river and holds the late hour best.
Tram 28 runs the classic route from Martim Moniz through Graça, Alfama, the Baixa and the Bairro Alto. Belém, three kilometres west along the river, holds the Jerónimos Monastery (begun 1501) and the Belém Tower (1519), both UNESCO sites. The Castelo de São Jorge sits at the top of the highest hill. Time Out Market, in the renovated Mercado da Ribeira, runs daily from late morning to past midnight.