The art of tile laying

[RobertArthur]

I can still manage to tile a standard bathroom, but as soon as it gets a bit more difficult, I’d be happy to call on an Italian craftsman, or try to get to grips with their craftsmanship in some way. And then you really need to add a good dash of creativity and experience to that.

I therefore look with admiration at what you find in medieval churches and abbeys. Yesterday in the Cathedral in Spoleto (Umbria), I didn’t just look up, but also humbly down.

[Loup-garou]

I think picture 5 is my favourite. But,in 1, fancy using a black diamond tile to repair the floor - I guess the tile shop had sold out of terracotta ones!

[RobertArthur]

About picture one, a repair? I wondered the same thing as I was walking past and thought: there’s a white tile right across from there. That can’t be a coincidence, and as an amateur theological detective, this is what I uncovered.

The alternation of black and white (or very dark green/serpentine set against white marble) symbolises the duality of creation. It represents the constant interaction between:
• Light and darkness (Genesis: the separation of light and darkness).
• Good and evil, or sin and purity.
• The earthly (the temporal) and the divine (the eternal).

When a believer walked across these tiles, they were symbolically reminded that the human soul is constantly moving between sin (darkness) and grace (the divine light).

[Polarengineer]

Bl…dy excuses for messing up the floor.