MONTE OLIVETO MAGGIORE, ABBEY OF. - The archabbey of M. M. presents itself to the visitor in picturesque fashion, with a complex of brick buildings, amid groups of cypresses on the steep slopes of clay soil: the "crete" of Siena.
One enters it through an entrance surmounted by a tower. This tower, restored in the last century, is adorned with two glazed terracottas, one representing The Virgin and the other St. Benedict, works of the school of the Della Robbia.
The present church, begun in place of another, more ancient one toward the end of the 14th century, was roofed in 1417 and consecrated in 1467. The architect G. Antinori restored it (1772-1778): he transformed the interior in Baroque manner, replaced the old presbytery of square plan with a larger polygonal one, and raised at the crossing of the nave with the transept a dome whose forms recall Guarini. Inside the church are some canvases by Francesco Vanni and Jacopo Ligozzi, a much venerated 14th-century wooden Crucifix, the celebrated choir with inlaid woodwork, executed for the most part (1503-1505) by Fra Giovanni da Verona, with the lectern by Fra Raffaele da Brescia (1520). The sacristy preserves fine 15th-century choir stalls. The bell tower, although built between 1463 and 1467, still displays Gothic forms.
The monastery develops around three cloisters built in several stages within the 15th century. The walls of the greater cloister are adorned with a famous cycle of frescoes illustrating the life of St. Benedict. Nine of these were executed by Luca Signorelli between 1497 and 1498, twenty-five by G. A. Bazzi, known as il Sodoma, between 1505 and 1508, one, still later, by B. Neroni, known as il Riccio. Other frescoes by Sodoma are found in the monastery. Two, representing Jesus bound to the column and Jesus beneath the Cross, adorn the walls of the passage arch between the cloister and the Chapter House; one depicts the Coronation of Mary on the wall of the stair landing.
Among the rooms of the monastery, mention should be made of the refectory, the large definitory, the small definitory and above all the library, a beautiful three-aisled hall with architecture by Fra Giovanni da Verona, who decorated its door panels with rich carvings. To the same artist is attributed the execution of the very fine wooden candelabrum and of a cabinet with doors and inlaid work, which are preserved in the room together with a collection of illuminated books.
Within the enclosure of the monastery are several chapels of various periods and the "Peschiera," a work by G. B. Pelori (1533). - See plate XCIV.
