The town of Caminha in the district of Viana do Castelo is about 100km north of Porto, at the mouth of the Minho River where Portugal meets Spain. It’s a small town with a train station of corresponding size which serves a population of about 2,500. But I’ll tell you, that little train station has gorgeous azulejos! Even if you’re not taking a train, this mini-museum of Caminha’s history hand-painted on tile deserves a stop in your journey.
The azulejos of Caminha Railway Station are in the typical colours of blue and white, but what makes these special is that each scene is surrounded by a unique pattern and a frame of colourful flora. The other thing I noticed that was different about these tiles is that they’re protected by law against theft and vandalism. I would imagine other places with azulejos are under similar law, but I’ve not seen a notice like this before.
I wanted to show the scenes larger, so I’ve put this batch in a gallery for viewing larger. Click to enlarge and navigate forward/back using arrow keys (hit ESC to return to the post):
There are azulejos are on the inside of the station, too.
If you’re a fan of azulejos, do include Caminha’s Railway Station in your journey. For a station of its size, it has an impressive collection of art — completely free and open to the public.
February 28, 2016
Album: Minho, Portugal