Viuva Lamego, Portugal's oldest manufacturer of azulejos, the world-famous small tiles, celebrates its 175th anniversary with an exhibition at the National Azulejo Museum. It showcases the work of 17 leading contemporary artists from Portugal and abroad, including Hervé Di Rosa, Vhils, Kruellad'Enfer, and Manuela Pimentel. "The azulejo has very great importance in Portugal," Pimental told AFP. "It began at a time when, after the earthquake of 1755, the city had to be rebuilt, and azulejo had all the principal characteristics to enable the city to be renovated cleanly, more solidly, protected from fire." IMAGES AND SOUNDBITES