Cappella del Santissimo Sacramento
The Compagnia del Sacramento, which was formed in 1511, originally had an altar in the Duomo. In 1541, they built the present chapel, which is reached from a door in the right aisle.
An inscription over the entrance records that Girolamo Ortorio Paci commissioned Giacomo Giorgetti to extend and restore the chapel in 1663. A small oval portrait of Girolamo Ortorio Paci can be seen inside, on the cornice above the entrance.
Giacomo Giorgetti also painted the oval fresco of the Allegory of the Eucharist (1663) in the vault.
Bishop Ludovico Giustiniani commissioned Giovanni Andrea Carlone, il Genovese to execute the frescoes (1670-73) on the walls:
Right Wall
Hagar in the dessert
Hagar was the mother of Abrahams illegitimate son, Ishmael. When his aged wife Sarah conceived, Abraham reluctantly sent Hagar and Ishmael into the dessert, giving them bread and water for their journey. The fresco shows them near to death, when an angel appeared with water and promised Hagar that Ishmael would give rise to a great nation. (He founded the Ishmaelite tribe, the forerunners of the Arab nation.)
David receives the bread from the priest Ahimelech
When David was forced to flee after having offended King Saul, he begged for bread from the priest Ahimelech. The priest gave him consecrated loaves because he had nothing else. The representation here shows this event as prefiguring the celebration of Mass.
Elijah and the angel
The fresco shows an angel bringing bread to Elijah in the desert after he had been forced to flee from Jezebel.
Left Wall
Sacrifice of Isaac
God tested Abraham by commanding him to sacrifice his son, Isaac. When Abraham was about to comply, God sent an angel to stay his hand and promised him that he would become the father of a great nation.
Prayer of David
David is shown praying for an end to the suffering of Israel. God answered this prayer by granting him victory over the Philistines, and by promising him that he would found a dynasty that would last forever. This was later seen as the promise of the coming of the Messiah, who would be from the House of David.
Tobias and the angel
This is a scene from a rather involved saga in the apocryphal Book of Tobit. Tobit was a righteous Jewish exile after the fall of Jerusalem who was accidentally blinded. He sent his son Tobias on a journey during which an angel appeared as his companion. The angel directed Tobias to catch a fish and use its gall to cure his father's blindness. The fresco shows Tobias catching the fish under the angel's direction.
Apse
The panels of the apse depict:
the Nativity [where ??];
the supper at Emmaus [where ??]; and
the Resurrection [where ??].
Gideon and the Midianites
This fresco is [above ??]. When the Midianites threatened the Israelites in the wilderness, an angel commanded the judge Gideon to lead them into battle. The fresco depicts Gideon leading a force of only 300 men in a surprise attack in which the superior forces of the Midianites were defeated. Gideon then declined to become the king of the Israelites, saying that God would be their leader.
Entrance Wall
Sacrifice of Elijah (1673)
This fresco above the entrance, which is signed and dated, depicts the contest between Elijah and the prophets of Baal. Each prepared to sacrifice a bullock, and called on God to light the fire. While Elijahs prayer was answered, that of the prophets of Baal was not. Thus the people returned to God and killed the prophets who had tried to lead them astray.
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