Whether it is realized in bronze or iron or ceramic tile or street art, Porto's gritty style is entirely in keeping with the city's down-to-earth sensibilities.

Ceramic tiles are functional art; they cover these facades. The woman on the balcony stands beside a banner for F.C. Porto, the local football club.

These citric tiles, tart with color, reinvigorate flagging pedestrians. 

Above: this sidewalk boulder, painted to simulate tile, is fittingly just outside the train station that is tiled inside with historical depictions. (The first Porto post contains pictures of those tiles.)

Public art includes some mysteries.

There must be a back story that explains the statue on the right. July 8, 2020 update: Indeed there is. The statute is of Camilo Castelo Branco (b. 1825 - d. 1890). He was the best-known Portuguese writer (sometimes called the Balzac of Portugal). He wrote 260 books including 58 novels. The statue is entitled Amor de Perdicion (Doomed Love), the title of his best-known work. The woman may represent love in an abstract artistic way (he was a Romantic novelist who wrote about love) but may also represent his second wife, whom he married after serving time in prison for having an adulterous affair with her and after her husband died. 

Even the commercial art can entertain.

As can refrigerator magnets.