The Ely miner. [volume] (Ely, Minn.) 1895-1986, 1919-08-29

XXI, enlarged by Benedict XII
and since restored, is now the reposi.
tory of the archives of the province,
and forms the extreme northern line
Of buildings between the Tour de
Trouillas at the northeastern corner
and the Tour de la Campane at the
northwest. Benedict's work was built
above the older structure, originally
the parish church of st. Stephen, by
Pierre Poisson of Mirepoix in 1885.
For some time it was turned to the
base uses of a common gaol, and it
was Revolt who designed it's present
barrelvault at height from the
ground which is equivalent to that of
the two original buildings one above
the other. Their frescoes by Pierre
du Puy have all disappeared; but we
know that his workmen were paid four
shillings day Of our money, while he
had nearly 20; and that their colors
were white, green, sky blue, indigo
blue, vermilion, saffron, and so forth,
laid on with white of egg, with olive
oil and linseed oil, and garnished with
fine gold. In 1886 Benedict XII finished
the thing of the floors, and some re-
mains of them are preserved in the
Musee Calvet in the town. This chapel
was not used for more than 80 years,
and was gravely damaged by fire in
1892.
Tour Des Anges.
Returning to the courtyard we find
in the Tour des Anges, at the angle of
the eastern wall, one of the best pre-
!.served of all Benedict's buildings. 1t
was originally entered from the in
terror of the palace only. and the steep
slope of the rock outside enabled the
architect to build two more stories
there than are visible from the court
yard. 1t forms a building 461s meters
high on the plan of perfect square,
with strong buttress pillar at each
angle and walls more than ten feet
thick and nearly 60 feet long. Its
cellars contained the popes private
stock of wine. Above the wine cellar
was the lower treasury, with its four
pointed vaults resting on central
pillar without base or capital, all
strongly guarded by huge locks and
ironbound doors.
Immediately above this was Bene-
dict KITS bedroom, which was used
by Clement VII in 1879, and called the
Chamber of the Flying Stag" from
nf tho M Cd;
able beneath multitudinous layers of
military whitewash. Two windows
with stone seats in their embrasures
look out over the entrance court, and
by third you see across the valley
of the RhOne to. the blue shadows of
the distant Alps. Several of the secret
stairways, carved in the thickness Of
the walls, by which the Pope reached
various parts of his palace, can still
be clearly traced. Above his holiness
was a library filled with precious
manuscripts, and higher still is a
larger apartment from which soldiers
could defend the whole tower against
attack, called the chatelet.
On the left of the spectator. and
continuing the east wing of the court
yard toward the north, are the other
private apartments of the Pope, de-
signed by Bernard Canelle of Mar
bonnie. The appalling reconstructions
necessitated by the barracks have al
most entirely destroyed the original
conception, but the minute details re-
corded in the Vatican are more than
sufficient to replace Canelle's design
in good time. This comprised the
Pope's private kitchen and wardrobe.
his dining room, his study and his ora
tory. Behind it, and in the angle of
the Tour des Anges, is the little Tour
des Etuves, where his holiness took
his bath. above the chamberlain's coun-
Gil room.