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  • Hacker News
  • I’ve been curious for a while the cheapest way to create a small run of azulejo tiles with printed design and very strange (puzzle piece like) shapes
  • Why does a random Wikipedia article gets bumped so high here? :D
  • I use Zellij and only recently had a colleague tell me that the name comes from Arabic and had not made the link to "Azulejo". It makes sense of course, considering they all refer to some form of tiling :)
  • Also they are easier to clean in a bathroom/kitchen.
  • Amazing how an article from Wikipedia easily trends on HN for no good reason, while many posts go unseen under the [new] tab.
  • Well, being able to chat about arts and culture is a nice surprise in the current sea of AI slop.
  • Note: I meant [newest]
  • I think this fits nicely under the guidelines of "anything that gratifies one's intellectual curiosity" a lot more than all of the AI marketing blogspam over there.
    by 1bpp
  • > but also had a specific function, such as aiding temperature control in homes.

    How? Why even mention it without a blurb about what that even means?

  • Indeed, I would be interested to know if this was more than just albedo.
    by ajb
  • Came here looking for this comment.

    Especially given its occurrence in the summary paragraph, that is a strong claim and I would like to know more.

    Some googling turns up social media links expanding on this claim ("reflective and insulating") but not immediately anything authoratative.

  • Ceramic tiles make rooms colder, which makes them popular in warm climates. They reflect heat, are decent insulators and prevent temperature swings.
  • Azulejos are still a staple in Brazilian architecture. It is a common wall covering in clean areas like bathrooms, kitchens, hospitals.
  • It is staple but not an art. They're just tilings.

    What the Spanish, Moroccan and Portuguese do with azulejos / zellij is miles ahead. It is intricate, complex and beautiful.

    Those countries just take the think into crazy high levels of beauty. Brazilian azulejos are not in the same league.

    To say that Brazilian azulejos are the same as the Moroccan/Spanish/Portuguese is like saying that a Ferrari Testarosa is the same thing as a VW Beetle (Fusca), that a Fugue by Bach is the same thing as Funk Carioca, that a Crepe Suzette is the same thing as a pancake with orange jelly: technically correct but still absolutely wrong.

    [1] https://www.google.com/search?q=zellij+morocco&sxsrf=APpeQns...

    [2] https://www.google.com/search?q=azulejo+sevillano&udm=2&sxsr...

  • What you call azulejos is basically tilings, which are mostly tiles with geometric patterns (or just a color) covering an area. Azulejo, in the "strict" portuguese (of Portugal) sense are usually a painting in the tiles (not on each individual tile, but on the whole). Mostly a work of art, yes..

    By the way, there is also another "infrastructure" element that is used as art in Portugal - calçada portuguesa [1], which is also very interesting.

    [1] https://pt.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cal%C3%A7ada_portuguesa

  • This is one of those words that can sound exotic, but for the locals would be so plain and uneventful to hear. Kinda like all the Japanese words being used for software project names on Github.
  • I assumed the word was derived from "azul" but from the article, it's apparently derived from the Arabic الزليج (al-zillīj) and has no relation with "azul"
    by s20n
  • Even more confusing since they are indeed often blue and white, like other ceramics.
  • This wikipedia article, the wiktionary entry for Portuguese, and the Spanish wiktionary entry all have different etymologies lmao.

    As a Spanish speaker it seems really hard to believe it's not azul + -ejo. They're literally blue.

  • The arabic word for "azul" is أزرق (azraq) so they all look pretty adjacent.
  • interestingly, apparently "azul" also comes from the arabic "lāzuward"
  • Portuguese here - many Portuguese words have origin from Arabic as Portugal has been conquered and occupied by "the Moors" in 8th~13th century. That's a long time! Alentejo, Aljezur, Algarve, and many of the cities in the Southern part of the country have have Arabic origins.
  • Azul[0] is a great board game inspired by this style.

    Easy to start, can get quite complex, heartily recommended!

    [0] https://boardgamegeek.com/boardgame/230802/azul

  • It really gets complex in a 4 player version and if also if you play thr version where the colors of the tiles are not set on the board. Fun game!!
  • I love it, still my favorite game after all those years, there is so much depth with such a simple mechanic.

    Whenever I want to play with a game engine I reimplement a version of it

  • 2 player can lead to fist fights.
  • Doing a little activism here: please don't buy old ones while visiting Portugal/Spain/etc., as they are commonly stolen goods. Thanks, from Lisbon.
  • Meanwhile there are many masters that make these tiles today - I know one personally! - and they all struggle to find clients.
  • I'll take advantage of your domain knowledge :) Where's the best place to find local artists that produce them?
  • I just googled it and apparently these are often chipped of historical buildings and sold as tourist souvenirs. Thanks for informing us