No grouting required for these beautiful tiles!

 Don't even ask how many photographs I took featuring tiles, or Azulejos in Portuguese, while in Lisbon, but if you are really keen to see some of them, check out my pinterest pages for Portuguese Azulejos and also Tiles and Mosaics!Azulejos have been used to decorate the buildings of Lisbon, both inside and out,  since the Portuguese tile industry became established, influenced by the Moorish decorations of Spanish tiles and ceramics.
They had a practical as well as decorative purpose, protecting buildings against fires, after much of the city was devastated by fires during the Great earthquake in the 18th century. We visited the wonderful  Museu Nacional do Azulejo set in the church and cloisters of Madre de Deus  but soon realised that the whole of Lisbon is like  a living tile museum!

Attractive tiling adorns shops,private houses  and cafes, such as the Leiteria Anunciada in Rua de Sao  Jose, a former dairy, shown below.

A recently published specialist guide book documents some of these attractive buildings and shops. It's called Old Charm Lisbon, Retro and Vintage Establishments by Ana Da Silva.

 As a stamp collector I was pleased to discover that there are quite a lot of Portuguese stamps depicting  tiles including  these in the  Castel Sao Jorge.

 Several series of stamps were also issued in 1980s which I have now added to my collection. (top of page) .They were issued in sets of four different tiles and also sheets of six of each.
Tiles on Stamps - cheaper than the real thing, and they don't need all that grouting!