Useful and decorative

Distinctly representative of traditional crafts, the Algarvian pottery industry knew how to keep up with trends, transforming functional objects into popular art with great ornamental value.

Irreplaceable in day-to-day working life in the past, water pitchers with asymmetrical handles reminiscent of the Roman amphorae, have had a new lease of life.  Old forms are now embellished with stylised designs or painted in warm colours, which transform them into beautiful decorative pieces. Other than that, the traditional pottery industry continues to hold its importance in construction, producing tiles, floor tiles and chimneys, and to make buckets - used in octopus fishing.

Throughout the Algarve, and especially on the coast, you can find fine examples of pottery.  Lagoa, for example, is well-known for its items painted in shades of blue.  Porches, the most famous ceramic producing area in the Algarve and the Almancil region are the centres of greatest production for regional crockery, renowned for its design.  Lagos continues to produce Algarvian chimneys, as well as water pitchers, tiles, buckets, plates, jugs and pots.

The continued production of wall tiles, decorated in floral motifs and painted in different colours, is guaranteed by craftsmen spread across the Algarve.