From the Roman Mosaic to the Portuguese Pavement: Continuity of an Artistic Expression in Time and Space

Abstract

The embellishment of pavements has always assumed a crucial role in what can be considered the furnishing of private and public spaces. The best known in antiquity has been, without doubt, the mosaic in all its forms: pebble mosaics, opus signinum, opus tessellatum, opus sectile.The mosaic, of Greco-Roman and Byzantine tradition, is one of the architectural and artistic elements that, for centuries, had been used to decorate the room in which they were placed. The beauty, coupled with the durabi-lity and strength of the material, was a determining aspect of the use of the mosaic as a pavement: two closely related aspects when looking at the Roman mosaic, which can still be found today on the Portuguese pavement or Portuguese mosaic, as it is called on the other side of the Atlantic.In this article, we intend to illustrate the continuity of an art, which has kept many classic motifs alive through the centuries taking it far beyond the territories of the Roman Empire.