Tiles arrived in the Iberian Peninsula with Muslim occupation, which used mosaics to cover the walls of their palaces. This new industry develops mainly due to the interest showed by the nobility and the clergy by making great orders to decorate the walls of churches, convents, palaces and gardens. Among the most common representations that can been seen in tiles are historical or mythological episodes, military campaigns, daily or religious scenes.
The reconstruction of Lisbon after the earthquake of 1755 seems to have worked as a new impulse in the production of standard tiles, creating what we call nowadays the Pombaline tiles, which were used to decorate the buildings of the new Lisbon.
The use of tiles to decorate buildings walls, especially from the nineteenth century on, seems to give a new light to urban landscapes through the reflection of light on glazed surfaces. New factories were then created in Porto, Aveiro and Lisbon. In the twentieth century, after its use in train and subway stations, in what can be considered authentic works of art, often signed by the author, the tiles arrived in the common house.
In the National Tile Museum, it is possible to appreciate the evolution of this ceramic art, which is characterized by adapting easily to the needs and styles of the different eras.