The oldest ceramic artifacts date back to 28,000 BC and around 9,000 BC there were traces of the first ceramic tiles. Today we call “ceramic” any of the distinct hard materials made by shaping and firing a nonmetallic mineral, such as clay, at a high temperature, like earthenware, porcelain, and brick. Over the last few centuries, Portugal and Italy have become countries of excellence for ceramic, and ceramic tiles in particular. In the mid-1900s the Italian market had become the largest in the world, thanks to production quality and design sophistication, and today it still represents a point of reference worldwide.