The most striking craft is the making of decorative tiles known as azulejos , a technique the Portuguese learnt from the Moors. Arguably the country's finest poet and dramatist to emerge this century is Fernando Pessoa.
Portuguese food is cheap, delicious and served in gut-expanding portions.
The region soon attracted a succession of peoples and was colonised by the Phoenicians, Greeks, Romans and Visigoths. In the 8th century, the Moors crossed the Strait of Gibraltar and commenced a long occupation which introduced their culture, architecture and agricultural techniques to Portugal. But resistance to the Moors grew and they were finally ejected during the 12th century. In the 15th century, Portugal entered a phase of overseas expansion due to the efforts of Prince Henry the Navigator. Mariners set off to discover new trade routes and helped create an enormous empire that, at its peak, extended to India, the Far East, Brazil and Africa.