architecture Architecture is the art and technique of designing and building, as distinguished from the skills associated with construction. It is both the process and the product of sketching, conceiving, planning, designing, and construction, constructi ...

, a bifora is a type of

window A window is an opening in a wall, door, roof, or vehicle that allows the exchange of light and may also allow the passage of sound and sometimes air. Modern windows are usually glazed or covered in some other transparent or translucent ma ...

divided vertically into two openings by a small

column A column or pillar in architecture and structural engineering is a structural element that transmits, through compression, the weight of the structure above to other structural elements below. In other words, a column is a compression member ...

or a

mullion A mullion is a vertical element that forms a division between units of a window or screen, or is used decoratively. It is also often used as a division between double doors. When dividing adjacent window units its primary purpose is a rigid sup ...

or a

pilaster In architecture, a pilaster is both a load-bearing section of thickened wall or column integrated into a wall, and a purely decorative element in classical architecture which gives the appearance of a supporting column and articulates an ext ...

; the openings are topped by

arch An arch is a curved vertical structure spanning an open space underneath it. Arches may support the load above them, or they may perform a purely decorative role. As a decorative element, the arch dates back to the 4th millennium BC, but stru ...

es,

round Round or rounds may refer to: Mathematics and science * Having no sharp corners, as an ellipse, circle, or sphere * Rounding, reducing the number of significant figures in a number * Round number, ending with one or more zeroes * Round (crypt ...

or pointed. Sometimes the bifora is framed by a further arch; the space between the two arches may be decorated with a coat of arms or a small circular opening ( oculus). The bifora was used in

Byzantine architecture Byzantine architecture is the architecture of the Byzantine Empire, or Eastern Roman Empire, usually dated from 330 AD, when Constantine the Great established a new Roman capital in Byzantium, which became Constantinople, until the Fall of Cons ...

, including Italian buildings such as the

Basilica of Sant'Apollinare Nuovo The Basilica of Sant'Apollinare Nuovo is a basilica church in Ravenna, Italy. It was erected by the Ostrogothic king Theodoric the Great as his palace chapel during the first quarter of the 6th century (as attested to in the ''Liber Pontificalis ...

, in

Ravenna Ravenna ( ; , also ; ) is the capital city of the Province of Ravenna, in the Emilia-Romagna region of Northern Italy. It was the capital city of the Western Roman Empire during the 5th century until its Fall of Rome, collapse in 476, after which ...

. Typical of the Romanesque and

Gothic Gothic or Gothics may refer to: People and languages *Goths or Gothic people, a Germanic people **Gothic language, an extinct East Germanic language spoken by the Goths **Gothic alphabet, an alphabet used to write the Gothic language ** Gothic ( ...

periods, in which it became an ornamental motif for windows and

belfries The belfry /ˈbɛlfri/ is a structure enclosing bells for ringing as part of a building, usually as part of a bell tower or steeple. It can also refer to the entire tower or building, particularly in continental Europe for such a tower attached ...

, the bifora was also often used during the

Renaissance The Renaissance ( , ) is a Periodization, period of history and a European cultural movement covering the 15th and 16th centuries. It marked the transition from the Middle Ages to modernity and was characterized by an effort to revive and sur ...

period. In

Baroque architecture Baroque architecture is a highly decorative and theatrical style which appeared in Italy in the late 16th century and gradually spread across Europe. It was originally introduced by the Catholic Church, particularly by the Jesuits, as a means to ...

and

Neoclassical architecture Neoclassical architecture, sometimes referred to as Classical Revival architecture, is an architectural style produced by the Neoclassicism, Neoclassical movement that began in the mid-18th century in Italy, France and Germany. It became one of t ...

the bifora was largely forgotten, or replaced by elements like the three openings of the Venetian window. It was also copied in the

Moorish architecture Moorish architecture is a style within Islamic architecture that developed in the western Islamic world, including al-Andalus (the Iberian Peninsula) and what is now Morocco, Algeria, and Tunisia (part of the Maghreb). Scholarly references on Is ...

in Spain, where it is called (from Arabic ).: "from Arabic ''ash-shammīs'' the ajimez" It returned in vogue in the nineteenth century in the period of eclecticism and rediscovery of the ancient styles in

Gothic Revival Gothic Revival (also referred to as Victorian Gothic or neo-Gothic) is an Architectural style, architectural movement that after a gradual build-up beginning in the second half of the 17th century became a widespread movement in the first half ...

and

Romanesque Revival architecture Romanesque Revival (or Neo-Romanesque) is a style of building employed beginning in the mid-19th century inspired by the 11th- and 12th-century Romanesque architecture. Unlike the historic Romanesque style, Romanesque Revival buildings tended t ...

Gallery

File:20090803 hosiosloukas36.jpg, 11th-century monastery of

Hosios Loukas Hosios Loukas () is a historic walled monastery situated near the town of Distomo, in Boeotia, Greece. Founded in the mid-10th century, the monastery is one of the most important monuments of Middle Byzantine architecture and art, and has been l ...

in Greece, representative of Byzantine style under the

Macedonian dynasty The Macedonian dynasty () Byzantine Empire under the Macedonian dynasty, ruled the Byzantine Empire from 867 to 1056, following the Byzantium under the Amorian dynasty, Amorian dynasty. During this period, the Byzantine state reached its greates ...

File:Ventanas con arabescos en la Alhambra.JPG,

Alhambra The Alhambra (, ; ) is a palace and fortress complex located in Granada, Spain. It is one of the most famous monuments of Islamic architecture and one of the best-preserved palaces of the historic Muslim world, Islamic world. Additionally, the ...

Granada Granada ( ; ) is the capital city of the province of Granada, in the autonomous communities of Spain, autonomous community of Andalusia, Spain. Granada is located at the foot of the Sierra Nevada (Spain), Sierra Nevada mountains, at the confluence ...

File:IMG 2970-Stiepeler-Dorfkirche-06 Kopie.jpg, A Gothic bifora, Bochum-Stiepel (Germany) File:Bifora beleo.jpg, A Romanic bifora,

Casina Casina ( ; ) is a ''comune'' (municipality) in the Province of Reggio Emilia, in the Italian region Emilia-Romagna, located about west of Bologna and about southwest of Reggio Emilia. The municipality of Casina contains the ''frazioni'' (su ...

Oratorio di Beleo The Oratorio di Beleo is a rural Romanesque-style, Roman Catholic chapel-church located in the frazione of Beleo, outside of the town of Casina, province of Reggio Emilia, region of Emilia Romagna, Italy. History Documents from 980 record the O ...

File:Palazzo Strozzi, Florence - Bifora.jpg,

Palazzo Strozzi Palazzo Strozzi is a palace in Florence, Italy. It is located in the historic centre between the homonymous Via Strozzi and Piazza Strozzi, and Via Tornabuoni. History The construction of the palace was begun in 1489 by Benedetto da Maiano, ...

Florence Florence ( ; ) is the capital city of the Italy, Italian region of Tuscany. It is also the most populated city in Tuscany, with 362,353 inhabitants, and 989,460 in Metropolitan City of Florence, its metropolitan province as of 2025. Florence ...

File:5304 - Firenze - Campanile di Giotto - Foto Giovanni Dall'Orto, 27-Jan-2008.jpg, Campanile di Giotto,

File:Messina, bifora, Palazzo del Granchio o Banco Cerruti o Palazzo Coppedè, Via Garibaldi.jpg, Palazzo del Granchio,

Messina Messina ( , ; ; ; ) is a harbour city and the capital city, capital of the Italian Metropolitan City of Messina. It is the third largest city on the island of Sicily, and the 13th largest city in Italy, with a population of 216,918 inhabitants ...

References

{{Reflist Architectural elements Windows

Gallery

See also

References