The tiles that line the walls of Lisbon tell the tale of the city and of Portugal. These tiles were once perfectly ordered and neat. Each predictibly after the other. They once were certain and stood confidently facing the sun and the sea. But time has designs of its own. It has sought to destroy some and gently wear away at others. Some tiles that were lost could not be replaced. In such places, rather than remove all the tiles and start again, the owners of the buildings simply repaced them with other tiles. This has created a complex patchwork, all the more beautiful for the story it tells. And although the buildings' owners do the best they can, perhaps time is the real architect. |