NHK World Heritage 100 Series

Narration Text

Puebla was built by the Spaniards in the 16th century and is located in highland wilderness some 2100 meters above sea level. This is one of the town’s churches. The wall is decorated with a huge number of tiles. They are known as Talavera tiles and are a nostalgic reminder of the settlers’ homeland.

Tiles are used throughout this town. They come in various colours and designs. The whole town almost seems like an exhibition site for tiles. This is a long established tile workshop in the town’s historic centre. Spanish people found that Puebla had soil suited for making ceramic tiles. They started to produce tiles and ceramics using techniques brought from Talavera de la Reina, a pottery production centre in central Spain. Puebla also had an abundance of mineral ores which were used to make green and purple pigment, a characteristic of Talavera pottery. Indigenous people in this area already knew how to make earthenware but Spanish potters taught them how to glaze pottery.

The roof of the church is also covered in colourful tiles as if it was a Muslim mosque. Most of the settlers who came to Puebla were from southern Spain, a region which remained under Muslim control until the end of 15th century. The use of tiles shows how Islamic architecture influenced the settlers. This building was an Archbishop’s residence.

Blue Spanish tiles have been placed in the red clay wall, a distinctive colour scheme used in Puebla. Flowers symbolize life in Mexico and are typically used in many Talavera pottery designs in Puebla. Tiles imported from the Islamic world were used to decorate walls and floors of Spanish houses from the 13th century. There is even an old expression in southern Spain as "That house is so poor that they cannot even lay tiles."

This hotel shows the particular taste of its owner. Its roof is decorated with mosaic tiles. Mosaic tiles were used at the Alhambra palace in Spain, but only for special places such as palaces, temples and churches due to the detailed complexity of this art form. Running patterns of plants and flowers in Arabic-style decorate the walls inside this hotel. This is the courtyard of the former Convent of Santa Rosa. One can find some of the finest examples of Talavera pottery here. A figure portrayed in flowers in bloom looks like a nun. The walls and ceiling are completely covered in tiles in the Convent kitchen. The oven and sink are also tiled. This kitchen is covered with expensive tiles and has been kept clean and carefully used.

People wished to recreate the beauty of their hometowns and in the process brought Islamic culture all the way to Mexico.