Portuguese pavement

Portuguese pavement (calçada portuguesa, European Portuguese: [kɐɫˈsaðɐ puɾtuˈɣezɐ], Brazilian Portuguese: [kawˈsadɐ poʁtuˈɡezɐ]), is a traditional-style pavement used for many pedestrian areas in Portugal. It consists of small flat pieces of various different stones, arranged to form a pattern or picture, like a mosaic. It can also be found in Olivença (a disputed territory administered by Spain) and throughout old Portuguese colonies, such as Brazil and Macau. Portuguese workers are also hired for their skill in creating these pavements in places such as Gibraltar. Being usually used in sidewalks, it is in squares and atriums that this art finds its deepest expression.

One of the most distinctive uses of this paving technique is the image of Saint Elizabeth of Portugal, in Coimbra, designed with black and white stones of basalt and limestone.

Paving as a craft is believed to have originated in Mesopotamia, where rocky materials were used in the inside and outside of constructions, being later brought to Ancient Greece and Ancient Rome.

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