Bifora (architecture)

In architecture, a bifora is a type of window divided vertically into two equal openings by a small column or in a broader sense a mullion, or by a pilaster in the case of blind windows; the openings are topped by arches, round or pointed, which are themselves framed by a blind arch; the space between the two arches may be decorated with a coat of arms or a small circular opening.

Alternative names, etymology and definitions

The term bifora derives from the Latin biforium, "two-arched", used in this sense in English since the late 16th century in a variety of fields. As an architectural term it has synonyms in "coupled" or "gemel window", borrowed from the French jumeau, "twin". The term used in Arabic and in the Spanish language is ajimez and is derived from the Arabic aš-šammīs, "that which is exposed to the sun"

History

Bifora coupled by a column date back to late antiquity. They have played an important role since early Christian architecture. Early examples can be found in the façade of the late antique Basilica of Sant'Apollinare Nuovo in Ravenna and on other monuments of the same period in that city. In Byzantine architecture, triforia are more common than biforia, whereas biforia are more frequent in western, Near-East and North African architecture of the early Middle Ages.
Adapted from late Roman buildings they play a special role in the Moorish and Mudéjar styles on the Iberian Peninsula. So-called ajimeces can be found, for example, in the Visigothic and pre-Romanesque churches of Asturias and Galicia. They appear in Romanesque architecture and even more frequently in Gothic architecture.
Even the rectangular windows with stone mullions that have appeared since the late Middle Ages, the Renaissance, and the Baroque can be considered late, archless successors of simple bifora windows.
Typical of the Romanesque and Gothic periods, in which it became an ornamental motif for windows and belfries, the bifora was also often used during the Renaissance period. In Baroque architecture and Neoclassical architecture the bifora was largely forgotten, or replaced by elements like the three openings of the Venetian window. It returned in vogue in the nineteenth century in the period of eclecticism and rediscovery of the ancient styles in Gothic Revival and Romanesque Revival architecture.