Quadrifora is a type of four-light

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 mate ...

. It appears in towers and belfries on top floors, where it is necessary to lighten the structure with wider openings. The quadrifora can also be a group closely set windows.

Overview

The quadrifora is divided vertically in four parts by three small columns or

pilaster In classical architecture, a pilaster is an architectural element used to give the appearance of a supporting column and to articulate an extent of wall, with only an ornamental function. It consists of a flat surface raised from the main wal ...

s, on which four arches rest, round or pointed. Sometimes, the quadrifora is framed by a further larger arch; the space among the arches may be decorated by a coat of arms or a small circular opening. Less popular than the bifora or trifora, the quadrifora was nevertheless used in the Romanesque,

Gothic Gothic or Gothics may refer to: People and languages *Goths or Gothic people, the ethnonym of a group of East Germanic tribes **Gothic language, an extinct East Germanic language spoken by the Goths **Crimean Gothic, the Gothic language spoken b ...

, and

Renaissance The Renaissance ( , ) , from , with the same meanings. is a period in European history marking the transition from the Middle Ages to modernity and covering the 15th and 16th centuries, characterized by an effort to revive and surpass id ...

periods. In the 19th century, it came back in vogue in the period of

eclecticism Eclecticism is a conceptual approach that does not hold rigidly to a single paradigm or set of assumptions, but instead draws upon multiple theories, styles, or ideas to gain complementary insights into a subject, or applies different theories i ...

and the revival of old styles. Compared to the trifora, the quadrifora was generally used for larger and more ornate openings.

Gallery

File:4472 - Piacenza - Il Gotico - Polifore - Foto Giovanni Dall'Orto 14-7-2007.jpg, Quadrifora and trifora of the Palazzo del Comune in Piacenza File:Szent István University, Quadrifora, 2017 Angyalföld.jpg,

Szent István University The Hungarian University of Agriculture and Life Sciences is a university of technology in Hungary. Its headquarters and main campus are located about 30 kilometres from the capital, Budapest, in the Central Hungarian town of Gödöllő. Other ...

, Budapest File:Erfurt Reglerkirche 820.jpg,

Reglerkirche The Reglerkirche (, also called ''Augustinuskirche'', "Augustine's Church") is a church building in the historical centre of Erfurt in Thuringia, Germany. It serves a Lutheran parish as a place of worship and is one of the larger churches in the ...

in Erfurt, Germany File:Venice - Churches - Madonna dell'Orto 09.jpg, Church Madonna dell’Orto, Venice File:Palazzo Nani (Venice).jpg, Palazzo Nani, Venice File:Venezia - Palazzo Testa - Foto di Paolo Steffan.jpg, Palazzo Testa, Venice

References

{{Reflist Architectural elements Windows

Overview

Gallery

See also

References