Road Trip: ES/PT Day 2

Having gone as far south as possible the day before, we spent our second day moving due east through Portugal and on into Spain.

 

Our first stop was the Church of Sao Lourenco (PT), the interior of which is entirely covered in 18th century azulejos (regional painted tin-glazed ceramic tiles).  This scanned postcard shows most of the chapel.  The Portuguese adopted the practice of covering every square inch from the Moors, for aesthetic reasons but also to improve temperature control.

Next up was the southernmost town of continental Portugal, Faro.  Our stroll took us to the municipal museum in an old convent.

Inside are various Roman artifacts, including the "Ocean God" mosaic, 

and large ancient amphorae line the medieval cloister. 

Continuing east, we crossed into Spain and stopped to appreciate 14th century Castle Niebla.

But it was the colorful tiles on the village homes that caught our eye.

Color remained the theme as we crossed the (Roman) bridge over the Río Tinto, the naturally reddish hue of which has been intensified by acidification subsequent to 5000 years of mining precious metals. 

It's impossible to escape the Roman influence on the region, so we dove into even more by visiting the extensive ruins at the Conjunto Arqueológico de Itálica in Santiponce (ES).  We started by walking around the outer rim of the amphitheater.

One floor down, we walked along the much cooler underground passages.

One of the largest ever built (during the time of Hadrian), seating was once available for over 25,000! 

Fewer seats were available at the nearby public toilets. 

The walls of the residences are long gone, but many floor mosaics remain.  I have a bias for the ones that are still intact.

It is tempting to think that the mosaics were defaced (literally, people are often missing their faces) by the Moors, but the early Christians were equally likely to vandalize pagan artworks (although this centaur managed to mostly escape).

Our final stop for the day was to explore one small part of the city of Sevilla (ES):  the Plaza de España.

The southern portion of the city was redesigned in preparation for hosting the 1929 World's Fair, adding buildings, gardens, and bridges over a moat!

The buildings have a mix of art and architecture spanning the 19th and early 20th centuries.

Everywhere are accents in blue tile (a tradition initially adopted after the importation of Chinese tile colored with cobalt).

More important, however, are the 48 alcoves representing different regions of Spain, each covered in hand-painted tiles.  Each alcove has an informative panel scene and benches (usually covered with tourists).

As if that weren't colorful enough, the setting sun painted the Vicente Traver Fountain on our way out to sleep in the burbs.

Another day down!