clearstory

A line of clearstory windows above the great room infuses even more natural light to both levels of the home.

These windows come as a surprise in a land where churches are guarded from the sun, and often the open triforium and clearstory, as at Avila, are walled up later to darken the interior.

The windows are high in the clearstory and set so deeply in the casement that the light falling on the mural paintings and fresco work is sifted and softened.

The Interior.—The natural division, in height, of an early church, whether basilican or domical, was into three stories—the ground level, the gallery level, and the clearstory or vault level.

The clearstory was restored in 1861 "from sufficiently clear indications" in the remains of the original windows.