Annual reports
2009  |  2010  |  2011  |  2012  |  2013



The free and universal online availability of Az Infinitum (2012) was one of the main results achieved by this group. It entailed, among other tasks, the development of specific software, the definition of controlled vocabulary, the inventory and catalogue of the existing heritage, as well as extensive documentary research, which resulted in books, articles, dissertations and communications. 

The group carried out various inventories of azulejos still found in situ (from hospitals in Lisbon, building façades in Ovar and Barreiro, Pombaline decorative patterns in downtown Lisbon, etc.). The results, available on Az Infinitum, translated into several articles and communications of an interdisciplinary nature, in collaboration with science historians and biologists.

So far, the project Cataloguing Portuguese Tile Patterns (in collaboration with MNAz – early 2011) has led to the catalogue of more than 400 patterns (including frames), available on Az Infinitum along with their original locations. This work gave rise to a book and various articles and papers. In the exhibition A Portuguese Taste – The use of azulejos in the 17th century (MNAz 2012), a media kiosk was created to promote the project. 

The inventory of tile façades in Ovar was made available (in pdf and on Az Infinitum) to the technicians of ACRA – Azulejo Conservation and Restoration Workshop. This is a significant result in that the inventory became useful both in the study of this kind of pattern and by supporting interventions aimed at restoring and preserving historical building façades.

Moreover, Az hosted several internships, the most recent of which devoted to the catalogue and study of the Cortiço & Netos collection. The researchers involved in this project were then invited to join the Az team as MA students.

The PrintArt project (PTDC/EEA-CRO/098822/2008) helped to shed further light on the prints used as sources of inspiration for tile panels, contributing to the internationalization of the research group and leading to the presentation of several papers in Vienna (2012), Florence (2012), Rome (2014) and Portugal. The group joined the European network ENBaCH as a consequence of the recognition of the work carried out in this area (2014). 

The collaboration on the project Photographic and Documental Inventory of Portuguese Architectural Ceramics, developed by Instituto de Promoción Cerámica (IPC) (Castellón, Spain), constituted another important step in the group’s internationalization process, along with the translation of Iconclass – Cultural Contents Classing System, a tool run by RKD and made available through Az Infinitum.

1 PhD thesis and 3 MA theses were concluded (2010, 2011 and 2013) and the scientific outreach activities included the realization of 1 congress (2010) and 2 workshops (2010 and 2011), apart from the usual monthly AzLab seminars, began in January 2013.