the monks." "The whole comprised 52 stalls, with
their backs, seats and arm rests, kneelers and all things appertaining"
(it now consists of 48 stalls and 47 pictures), and the panels of the
backs were worked in tarsia with perspective views "beautiful to a
marvel," where were figured houses, views of the country, cupboards,
grilles, sacred utensils, and other fancies. In the early years of the
19th century 38 of these perspectives were moved to Siena and placed in
the Cathedral, where they now are. Another choir, smaller but not less
beautiful, was made for the church of the Olivetan monastery of S.
Benedetto fuori della Porta at Tufi, near Siena. This church is in
ruins; 31 perspectives from the choir were sent to fill the gaps in
Monte Oliveto Maggiore, the monks who returned after the revocation of
the suppression in 1813 having appealed to the Archbishop to allow them
to take them. Four of the ancient backs were found in a corner of the
sacristy, and eight carried to Siena and found superfluous were
returned, as well as one which a neighbouring villager had taken. Some
of them show the conventual buildings as they were at the beginning of
the 16th century. The frames resemble friezes, and are decorated with
flowers, fruit, birds, musical instruments, arms, and ornament. Each
back is separated from the next by a colonnette carved with delicate
arabesques. In this choir is also an Easter candlestick much like that
at S. Maria in Organo, Verona, and there are two doors which belonged
to the library. Pope Julius II. called him to Rome in 1571, and
commissioned the ornamentation of the Camera della Segnatura in the
Vatican, the designs for which are ascribed to Raffaelle, not only the
seat backs with their seats, but also the doors, all worked with
perspectives, "in which he succeeded so well that he gained great favour
with the pontiff." Then he went to Naples and did the same sort of
carving and intarsia in the sacristy of the choir of the chapel of Paolo
Tolosa, in the church of Monte Oliveto in that city, works not less
successful and lauded than those of Siena and Rome. This church is now
called that of S. Anna dei Lombardi. The tarsie in the sacristy are in a
later setting, and include nine panels of perspectives of landscapes,
buildings, &c., nine others showing cupboards with objects on the
shelves, and one with a figure of an abbot around which the following
inscription runs:--

.T.EPRE.R.P.F.DOMI.DE.LEV.GN