The most precious and remarkable work displayed in the sacristy is the Triptych by Bellini, immortal masterpiece of art and piety dated 1488. Being placed on the altar, as soon as you turn your eyes to the apse the gaze is immediately drawn to the enchanting sight of this painting, which was com- missioned by the Pesaro family who had made the apse their own chapel.
The central part of the triptych is dedicated to the Virgin seated on throne holding the Baby Jesus. The perspective is so perfect that the Virgin seems cut off from the background to assume the pro- portions of a sculpture more than a portrait. Her glance is of an incomparable tenderness so that the work has been reckoned as the most tender ever made for altars, showing a devoted and chaste motherhood holding her blessed son in an atmosphere of religious serenity. At the Virgin's feet are two lively angels who seem to come out of the painting, one playing the lute and the other the flute. On the golden dome lighting the figure of the Virgin, Bellini himself inscribed an epigraph addressing a prayer to the Madonna ( " Sure gate of heaven, light of mind, guide of life, to you I entrust my very deed " ).On either sides two fine portraits of saints complete the triptych: on the left St. Nicho- las from Bari and St. Peter; on the right St. Mark and St. Benedict, solemn in his long black coat and looking at the viewer with an intense expression.The frame surrounding the triptych is a beau- tiful work designed by Bellini and carved by Jacopo da Faenza.