Tomettes are a type of

terracotta Terracotta, also known as terra cotta or terra-cotta (; ; ), is a clay-based non-vitreous ceramic OED, "Terracotta""Terracotta" MFA Boston, "Cameo" database fired at relatively low temperatures. It is therefore a term used for earthenware obj ...

tile that is commonly used as flooring, particularly in southern regions of France including

Provence Provence is a geographical region and historical province of southeastern France, which stretches from the left bank of the lower Rhône to the west to the France–Italy border, Italian border to the east; it is bordered by the Mediterrane ...

Dauphiné The Dauphiné ( , , ; or ; or ), formerly known in English as Dauphiny, is a former province in southeastern France, whose area roughly corresponded to that of the present departments of Isère, Drôme and Hautes-Alpes. The Dauphiné was ...

and the island of

Corsica Corsica ( , , ; ; ) is an island in the Mediterranean Sea and one of the Regions of France, 18 regions of France. It is the List of islands in the Mediterranean#By area, fourth-largest island in the Mediterranean and lies southeast of the Metro ...

, but also elsewhere including

Paris Paris () is the Capital city, capital and List of communes in France with over 20,000 inhabitants, largest city of France. With an estimated population of 2,048,472 residents in January 2025 in an area of more than , Paris is the List of ci ...

. They are typically hexagonal (or sometimes octagonal) in shape, which allows them to

tessellate A tessellation or tiling is the covering of a surface, often a plane, using one or more geometric shapes, called ''tiles'', with no overlaps and no gaps. In mathematics, tessellation can be generalized to higher dimensions and a variety of ...

into a uniform surface while minimizing the need for a seal substance.

History

Terracotta tiles were historically valued for their ability to retain heat from a

hearth A hearth () is the place in a home where a fire is or was traditionally kept for home heating and for cooking, usually constituted by a horizontal hearthstone and often enclosed to varying degrees by any combination of reredos (a low, partial ...

, and for keeping rooms cool in the summer. The tomette was developed in response to an economic crisis in 1829 which saw a fall in purchasing power as a result of industrialisation. Their shape made it possible to maximize the use of clay by minimizing losses when cutting the tiles, and reduces the amount of sealer material required between them. Production was centred in Apt and Salernes, where the

ferruginous The adjective ferruginous may mean: * Containing iron, applied to water, oil, and other non-metals * Having rust on the surface * With the rust (color) See also * Ferrous, containing iron (for metals and alloys) or iron(II) cations * Ferric, cont ...

clay soil was ideal for the production of the tiles. By the 1850s production had greatly expanded and the tiles were being supplied to merchants in

Toulon Toulon (, , ; , , ) is a city in the Provence-Alpes-Côte d'Azur region of southeastern France. Located on the French Riviera and the historical Provence, it is the prefecture of the Var (department), Var department. The Commune of Toulon h ...

Marseille Marseille (; ; see #Name, below) is a city in southern France, the Prefectures in France, prefecture of the Departments of France, department of Bouches-du-Rhône and of the Provence-Alpes-Côte d'Azur Regions of France, region. Situated in the ...

and

Nice Nice ( ; ) is a city in and the prefecture of the Alpes-Maritimes department in France. The Nice agglomeration extends far beyond the administrative city limits, with a population of nearly one million Saltillo tile Saltillo tile is a type of terracotta tile that originates in Saltillo, Coahuila, Mexico. It is one of the two most famous products of the city, the other being multicolored woven ''sarapes'' typical of the region. Saltillo-type tiles are now ma ...

, a type of terracotta tile from Mexico *

Azulejos (, ; from the Arabic ) is a form of Portuguese and Spanish painted tin-glazed ceramic tilework. ''Azulejos'' are found on the interior and exterior of churches, palaces, ordinary houses, schools, and nowadays, restaurants, bars and even railwa ...

, painted ceramic tiles popular in Portugal and Spain

References

{{reflist Terracotta Floors Buildings and structures in Provence Buildings and structures in Corsica