Thieves are still taking the tiles off Lisbon's buildings. Here's the full story.

Good morning, Lisbon. It's Tuesday, 28 April. Twenty-two degrees and overcast, with some rain possible this afternoon.

🌬️ AIR QUALITY: 25 (Good).

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LISBON HAS BEEN FIGHTING TILE THEFT FOR DECADES NOW. HERE IS WHERE THINGS STAND.

Walk through Mouraria, Alfama or the older residential streets behind Chiado and you will see them: patches of grey plaster in the middle of tiled building façades. A wall that is half blue and white, half nothing. Those gaps are not neglect. They are the visible legacy of a theft epidemic that, at its peak in the early 2000s, was running at around 10,000 incidents a year in Portugal.

Azulejos, the hand-painted ceramic tiles that have covered Lisbon's buildings since the 18th and 19th centuries, became commercially valuable as the city's profile grew internationally. A single historic tile can fetch hundreds of euros at a reputable antique dealer. Stolen panels sell for significantly more to private collectors who do not ask questions. The tiles sit outdoors on the walls of the city, unguarded. For someone with a chisel, a bag and an early alarm call, they have always been easy to take.

The problem is structural. Tiles are stolen from residential façades, church interiors, hospital corridors and public viewpoints. They end up in antique markets across Europe and on international online platforms. Once they leave the building, recovering them is difficult. The Judiciary Police Museum in Lisbon holds a collection of recovered historic tiles whose original locations are unknown and who cannot therefore be returned to their homes.

The response came in 2007, when Leonor Sá, curator of the Judiciary Police Museum, launched the SOS Azulejo Project. Working with universities, the Ministry of Culture and local police forces, the project combined a public reporting website, awareness campaigns and targeted police action. The website allows anyone to cross-reference tiles on sale at markets or antique dealers against a database of reported thefts. The effect was measurable: registered thefts dropped by approximately 80% in the years that followed. Sá described the website as "very dissuasive" — the first day it launched, a stolen tile panel was identified, recovered and returned.

Legislation followed the policing. In 2013, Lisbon made it illegal to demolish a tile-covered building façade without city authorisation. In 2017, a national law extended those protections across Portugal, after conservation groups documented tiles being stripped and sold by property owners who did not understand what they had.

But reduced is not finished. In January 2026, TSF radio reported that police had increased surveillance at Feira da Ladra, Lisbon's flea market in Alfama, specifically because of the illegal sale of historic tiles. The market, which runs on Tuesdays and Saturdays, remains one of the places where stolen azulejos surface. The secondary market that drives the theft still exists. The legislation protects tiles from demolition but cannot stop someone with a chisel working at 4am.

For anyone new to Lisbon, the missing sections in tiled façades are worth understanding. They are not random deterioration. They are the record of what was taken, and a reminder that the city's most visible identity, the thing that makes its streets look the way they do, is not fixed in place. It can be removed. Some of it already has been.

Bottom line: If you come across historic tiles for sale at Feira da Ladra or elsewhere and suspect they may be stolen, the SOS Azulejo database is at sosazulejo.com. The project is still active.

⚡ QUICK HITS

The Bank of Portugal cut its 2026 growth forecast in March from 2.3% to 1.8%, citing the Middle East conflict and rising energy prices. Inflation for the year is now projected at 2.8%, up from the December estimate of 2.1%. The central bank flagged energy costs as the primary driver, alongside the impact of severe storms earlier in the year. For residents, the practical read is slower wage growth and continued household cost pressure through the summer.

Fuel prices shift this week. The Automóvel Club de Portugal forecasts diesel falling by around 4 cents per litre from Monday, bringing the average to approximately €1.93. Petrol rises by around 2.5 cents to approximately €1.92. Prices vary by station and location and may adjust as crude oil markets move.

Mourinho's future at Benfica heads into May unresolved. Both he and the club hold a 10-day termination window once the season ends. Mourinho said last week the decision depends on the club's wishes. Benfica president Rui Costa said before the Champions League tie against Real Madrid that Mourinho would stay for 2026-27. The manager's public language since has been more careful. Real Madrid speculation continues in the Spanish press. The season ends in May.

🍽️ SPOT OF THE DAY

CAFÉ DA GARAGEM (CASTELO)

Costa do Castelo 75 looks like the entrance to a theatre, because it is. Teatro Taborda, founded in 1870 and rescued from a demolition order in the 1980s, now runs as a contemporary performance space for dance, theatre and world music. The café is downstairs, and it is one of the more quietly extraordinary rooms in Lisbon.

One entire wall is a floor-to-ceiling window over the city. From here you can see Graça, Mouraria, Martim Moniz and the hill of Nossa Senhora do Monte laid out together, the rooftops in late afternoon light with no tourist viewpoint sign anywhere nearby. Inside: a piano, 32 handblown glass lamps, theatre props, quotes from plays painted on the walls, objects from past productions on every surface. Wine, coffee, cocktails, toasted sandwiches, a charcuterie board if you stay longer than you planned.

It is not a place you find by accident. That is the point.

→ Check out the views for yourself ←

Insider tip: The building entrance has no café sign from the street. Look for the Teatro Taborda sign, go in, and head downstairs. Open Tuesday to Friday from 6pm, Saturday and Sunday from 5pm. Closed Mondays. Costa do Castelo 75, Castelo.

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See you tomorrow morning.