We've always had a soft spot for Spanish tiles. Ever since our first visit to Madrid's decorative arts museum, our Platonic ideal of a kitchen has been the museum's 18th century tiled kitchen from Valencia. That was until we came to spend some extended time in Valencia. Many parts of Spain have ceramic traditions, some dating back to Roman Hispania. (Sevilla sisters Justa and Rufina were martyred in the 2nd century for refusing to make ceramics for a pagan festival.) The Moors brought their own pottery traditions with them and the Spaniards kept soaking up the influences like sponges. The Valencia region—especially the village of Manises—reached its ceramic apogee in the 17th–20th centuries. Now a neighborhood of Valencia on the airport Metro line, Manises still...Read More