Azulejo (en.wikipedia.org)

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.

Even more confusing since they are indeed often blue and white, like other ceramics.

Meanwhile there are many masters that make these tiles today - I know one personally! - and they all struggle to find clients.

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