History
The last big factory of tiles and pottery craft in Europe
Going back to 1741 it was in Lisbon, at “Sant’Anna Lands” near Basilica da Estrela that a little pottery was founded. On the first years of activity, the little pottery just produced red clay pieces without any type of decoration. In 1755, a big earthquake almost destroyed the entire city of Lisbon and after that, the rebuilding of the city becomes urgent and essential. It was on that time that the Portuguese tiles become fashion most in part due to the lower price they had when compared with other substitutes as stones for instance. As demand for this kind of products increased, the little pottery was forced to start producing decorative tiles that would made part of the decoration of many buildings in Lisbon. For many years, the factory had its plant placed at Rua de Sant’Anna à Lapa (Sant’Anna to Lapa street), but due to urban growth, in the beginning of the 20th century the factory was forced to move its production center to Junqueira Street (Lisbon) where for 20 years it continues producing pottery and tiles completely by hand. 20 years later the company changed its plant again to the Calçada da Boa Hora Street where it remains until today producing with the oldest Portuguese techniques.