The production of painted tiles in Valencia has continued in one form or another since the Middle Ages.  The first known Valencian factory devoted solely to tilemaking opened in 1568.  Full polychrome designs introduced by Castille artisans had revolutionized the Spanish tilemaking industry and inspired new subject matter and more elaborate compositions.  Increased demand led several Valencian craftsmen to open tile factories, which at first were small, cramped workshops with a single kiln and a limited yield.  However, by the middle of the eighteenth-century, at the height of the Spanish Rococo period, the city’s tile factories had become the foremost in Spain, and were receiving commissions ranging from kitchen panels in the homes of the wealthy nobility to interior decorations in the Royal Palace in Madrid.  Read more... (573 words, 3 images, estimated 2:18 mins reading time)