Faro’s Palace of Tiles

Living in Faro as I do, it has been a real pleasure to see the renovation of parts of the city in recent years and in particular its wonderful old town.

WORDS Bob Tidy

One prominent two-story building that occupies a side of the central square has always intrigued me. As an example of historical architecture, it has its interest, but unless you were told, you would probably not expect to find out that it is actually a palace. This building is the Paço Episcopal de Faro (The Bishops Palace). It lies alongside an impressive building with a bell tower on another side of the square that is Faro’s Cathedral, Sé de Faro.

Having been closed for a long period due to COVID restrictions, the palace has now reopened (along with the Cathedral). The extraordinary tiles that decorate the entrance, staircase and rooms are national treasures, making it a historical gem not to be missed.

Faro, like many ancient places, has a history of occupation, destruction, re-building and further conquest. One incident from the past was of great importance to the palace. When an Englishman by the name of Robert Devereux, the Earl of Essex, visited back in 1598, he wasn’t here on vacation. He invaded the town, destroyed buildings and stole whatever he could get his hands on. This included the first-ever book to be printed in Portugal, a Hebrew Bible called the Pentateuco, which was a part of the library within the palace. It is now housed in part of the Oxford Museum, but in 2013 Portugal made an official request to have it returned.

But enough of history. It is the tiles themselves that are the reason for my visit. The palace was built in 1585 when the seat of the Bishop was moved from Silves. As well as being his official home, it was used as a college for training priests.

Clearly, these decorative masterpieces that depict religious themes are a testament to the incredible artistry of the golden age of Portuguese tile design of the 18th Century. Not being a man of faith myself, l am missing a lot of their intended value as a passionate expression of devotion and belief. But as an artist, l marvel at the skill and craftsmanship of their creation. The interior of this building simply sings of “Portugueseness” and l am sure that for others a sense of reverence also exists. However, there was something else going on here. Perhaps being detached from a belief system helped me to see it. Whoever did this was also showing off.

This, l later found out, was very much a feature of this period’s baroque style of tile art, designed to be provocative, exuberant, and to display grandeur. This was a period of great wealth for the Catholic Church with the gold that came over from Brazil and other rewards from the voyages of discovery. However, there is far more to this display of artistic pride than simply decoration. The designs and motives are full of symbolic meaning and biblical references. l am sure that there is much to be learned and appreciated for those with a deeper ecclesiastical interest. 

Equally impressive tiles can be appreciated in other buildings, some of which are now high-quality restaurants, so if you haven’t discovered Faro’s old town yet, it is well worth adding to your bucket list of places to go.

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