Painted Tiled Frescos on walls around Ronda

Having been brought up outside of Southern Europe I can honestly say I don't really ever remember shops, hotels, private homes, even street signs being made of of painted tile frescos, but here in Andalucia they are very common.

Take most bakeries or butchers around the pueblos blancos, they have no need for gaudy signs or flashing lights, after all everybody in the village already knows where the shop is and who the people behind the counter are.

So in keeping with the white village look and feel, many of the shops use the same style of tiled fresco that you see adorning the entrances to local churches, and the idea has caught on, a fair proportion of houses have a tiled fresco giving the name of the house or depicting Mary or one of the local saints.

Looking at a lot of the tiled frescos you'd be forgiven for thinking a student of the great painters or map-makers of olden times had drawn them, most are really quite impressive given they are hand painted onto regular wall tiles just like the type we decorate our bathrooms with.

When we first moved to Spain I needed particular subject to form the cornerstone of my photographic interest and I was going to choose these tiled frescos before realising that every second building or street corner includes one. This is why I settled for taking pictures of manhole covers. At least most towns don't have more than a handful of unique designs.

Now, for those of you interested in a bit more to do with walking the streets of one of the pueblos blanco, let me tell you that starting your walk you are only likely to see house after house after house. Entire streets are made up of buildings joined together in a continuous line that may stretch several hundred meters or more.

Most of these will look quite unremarkable and you'd be forgiven for thinking there are no shops. In fact, quite the opposite is true, a fair number will have a front living room converted into a small supermarket, butcher, bakery, or hardware store.

The only thing that gives a hint to difference between a home or a shop is the tiled fresco next to the door, because let me assure once the door is closed you can't tell.