Slender central marble column supports twin Moorish arches in a bifora doorway in the Palácio Nacional, the royal summer palace, at Sintra, Portugal. Legacy of Moorish rule in Iberian peninsula from 711 to 1492 and continued use of Islamic styles of architecture and art.
Sintra, Lisbon region, Portugal: this elegant bifora doorway, with two arabesque arches supported by a slender central marble column or mullion, is among Moorish architectural features blending with both medieval and later Renaissance and Baroque styles in the Palácio Nacional de Sintra, the Portuguese royal family’s upland refuge from Lisbon’s intense summer heat. The palace, in the centre of the Sintra Vila old town, spans the entire history of Portugal, with its diverse buildings constructed, enlarged and adapted by successive monarchs over several centuries. The site was first developed in the 10th and 11th centuries. while Sintra was under Moorish control, and it was originally the residence of the Islamic governor of the Lisbon area. Portugal was founded as a Christian kingdom in 1143 and a Reconquista or reconquest led to the surrender of the last Muslim strongholds in 1249. Noble and richer Moors then left for North Africa, and although many poorer people stayed, the last Muslims who refused to convert to Christianity were expelled in 1496. After the Moors left Spain and Portugal, their architecture and art lived on. It was preserved in many places and further enriched in Portugal by buildings constructed in the Manueline style between 1490 and 1520 and in the Mudéjar idiom between the 13th and 16th centuries.
Size: 4912px × 7360px
Location: Palácio Nacional de Sintra, Sintra, Lisbon region, Portugal.
Photo credit: © Terence Kerr / Alamy / Afripics
License: Royalty Free
Model Released: No
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