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Illustrations For Dan Brown's Inferno
Illustrations For Dan Brown's Inferno
Illustrations For Dan Brown's Inferno
Illustrations for Dan Brown's Inferno
Inferno illustrations
When many Templars were
burned to death after 1307, it
inspired Dante to write his
Inferno. That in turn inspired
Dan Brown to write his
Inferno. But the story of the
surviving Templars is in many
ways as fascinating as those
two works of fiction.
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9/24/2016 Illustrations for Dan Brown's Inferno
Illustrations for
Dan Brown's Inferno
These illustrations shed light on many of the people, places and
clues discovered in Dan Brown's Inferno novel. Dan's
complicated trail of action and clues can be fascinating but also
a little difficult to follow sometimes. So as you read through the
book you may want to check these illustrations and get a clearer
picture of who, where and what is going on. And if you enjoy
them like many other people already have, you'll want to tell your Templars
friends by share, tweet or post so they can do the same.
Intriguing new sources light
Leading off this gallery is the image above. In it, Dante sees up this stirring story of the
Beatrice, the love of his life. She later appears to him as he goes Knights Templar. By following
through his experience in hell (inferno). This 1883 painting by the lives of individual knights
Henry Holiday shows the famous Ponte Vecchio or Old Bridge of we get to experience their rise,
fall and survival. Those who
Florence in the background.
avoided being burned at the
stake were forced to live in
secret outside the law. In time
In Dan Brown's Inferno.... they had their revenge on
kings and the Vatican for their
The prologue opens in Florence, Italy, with a man running past fallen brothers.
the Uffizi, the Palazzo Vecchio, and the Bargello, then turning
west. I have been to that city, but even so could not figure out See Templars book review.
where he ended up. So I made this little map. An "X" marks the
spot. As you may have noticed, a picture makes it easy.
Book Review of
Dan Brown's
Inferno
These intriguing details of Dan
Brown's Inferno book will
whet your appetite for more.
See the Inferno book review
Secret Passage
ways in Florence
Built by the notoriously
secretive Medici family, this
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passageway actually exists,
and Robert Langdon finds
danger there at every turn. See
Inferno passageways.
Facebook Page
The Knights Templar page on
Facebook stays up to date on
what is happening in that
world and this one. Check it
out on the Facebook page.
Credit: Holst
Badia
What did the running man find there? Something referred to as
"the spire of the Badia." That is about as understandable as the
inside of a fortune cookie written in Chinese. But the place
actually exists, and here it is. Known formally as the Badia Templars
Fiorentina, you see the spire on the right. On the left is the
square tower of the Bargello.
Dan Brown
Inferno
Illustrations
Sworn in Secret Book
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Credit: Sailko
Legs
In chapter one we are told, "She pointed now to a writhing pair of
legs, which protruded upside down from the earth, apparently
belonging to some poor soul who had been buried headfirst to his
waist."
That is inspired by this particular scene in Dante's Inferno. The
drawing was made by Gustave Doré in 1861. If you are one of
the bookish types who actually looks these things up (OK, I'm guilty,
I did it too) it appears in Canto 19 around line 49.
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Credit: Doré
There are many other people, places and things of note that
either appear in Dan Brown's story directly or are relevant to it.
Among them are the following.
Palazzo Vecchio
This "Old Palace" was built to be the city hall of Florence in the
1300s. Its famous tower stands 300 feet high. Like many other
buildings in Florence, the Palazzo Vecchio is now a museum.
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Credit: Jansoone
Dante Alighieri
Dante's Inferno led to Dan Brown's novel of the same name, and
he is important to this story. Born in Florence around 1265, Dante
was later banned from that city for resisting the pope's political
authority there. After the Templars began to be arrested in 1307,
were put on trial in Italy and other countries, and hundreds of
them were burned to death, the words of Dante's Inferno came
pouring out of his pen.
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Credit: Botticelli
Beatrice Portinari
Dante fell in love with Beatrice when he was only nine years old,
but would love her all his life. Unfortunately his parents signed a
contract for him to marry someone else, so he and Beatrice could
never become a couple. Then she tragically died when he was
25. Yet in his writings, she was everywhere. She appeared briefly
to him in Inferno, then escorted him through heaven in Paradiso.
Here we see them together at last.
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Credit: Doré
More Illustrations of Dante's Inferno....
Dante's unusual scenes creep into Dan Brown's novel in different
ways. To see what is going on it really helps to see pictures.
Otherwise it's hell, so to speak. Here are more illustrations.
Botticelli
Sandro Botticelli was a painter in Florence who suffered the
unfortunate fate of having his work become much more famous
than himself. His "Birth of Venus" is widely recognized and still
used today as an image of beauty and radiant good health.
Hardly anyone can recall whose hand and artistry created it.
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Credit: Botticelli
Map of Hell
One of Botticelli's less wellknown works is very relevant here,
and that is his La Mappa dell' Inferno the map of hell.
Credit: Botticelli
Duomo
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This is the grand cathedral of Florence, and bears the lengthy
official name of Basilica di Santa Maria del Fiore. It is traditionally
called the Duomo because of its large, distincitve dome. This is
perhaps the single most wellknown landmark of the city.
Credit: Enne
Porta Romana
Back when Florence was a walled city, this was the main gate.
Now most of the wall is gone, but the Porta Romana gate is still
there, able to tie up traffic on occasion.
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Credit: Sailko
Cosimo de' Medici
As heir to his family, young Cosimo became Duke of Florence,
but through military and political means he took contol of all the
surrounding lands and became Grand Duke of Tuscany. He
moved the family seat to Palazzo Pitti, south of the Arno River,
and that caused him to build the secret passageways of
Florence.
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Credit: Bronzino
Florence Map
This is a slightly wider view of Florence showing more of its
famous locations.
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Credit: Holst
Secret Passageways (Vasari Corridor)
Cosimo de' Medici ordered this collection of passageways to be
built in 1564 so he could move about the city of Florence in safety
and without being seen. Giorgio Vasari completed the task for
him, and the corridor is shown here crossing the Ponte Vecchio,
mixed in with the upper levels of buildings on the bridge.
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Credit: Gayo
More Illustrations of Secret Passageways....
Get a closer look into the world of secret passageways in
Florence with these illustrations and map.
Cerca Trova
Vasari was also a prolific painter and included the strange words
"cerca trova" on one of his paintings. It means "search and find,"
a phrase that haunts Robert Langdon in his nightmare.
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Credit: Vasari
Michelangelo
This extraordinary artist was actually named Michelangelo di
Lodovico Buonarroti Simoni, so you can understand why
everyone just called him Michelangelo. Known mainly as a
sculptor and painter, he was a true Renaissance man with many
talents. He sculpted the beautiful Pietà when he was only 24,
then he went on to paint the ceiling of the Sistine Chapel at the
Vatican, a role in which he is often portrayed and remembered.
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Credit: Jacopino del Conte
David
Perhaps Michelangelo's most famous sculpture was his colossal
and magnificent David, which he crafted when he was 29 years
of age. Commissioned by the city of Florence, It stood in front of
the Palazzo Vecchio for many years, before being moved to the
more sheltered confines of the Accademia Gallery in Florence.
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Credit: Gaya
Campanile by Giotto
Giotto di Bondone was the Florentine painter and architect whose
most visible work was his design of the distinctive Campanile bell
tower that serves the Duomo, and stands beside it.
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Credit: Perillo
Brunelleschi's Dome
Filippo Brunelleschi was an engineer and architect, which sounds
rather boring, except for the fact that he created wonders of art
with his skill. The most famous of these is the dome of the
Duomo cathedral that gives it that name. It was the largest dome
built since the days of the Romans. That it is still standing and
still beautiful adds to his accomplishment.
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Credit: Kovalchek
Baptistry of San Giovanni
In front of the Duomo stands this smaller building of similar
design, where Dante and many other people of his day were
baptized. The large, elaborate and heavy doors are known as the
"Gates of Paradise."
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Credit: Gryffindor
Harris Tweed Worn by Robert Langdon
The coat worn by Robert Langdon is always Harris Tweed, and
he notes that the label inside his coat includes the red Templar
cross.
Credit: Harris Tweed
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Dante's Death Mask
This is a replica of the death mask made for Dante shortly after
he passed away in 1321. Robert Langdon tries to get inside his
head.
Credit: JoJan
Rialto Bridge in Venice
This is the famous and beautiful bridge found in Venice, Italy. The
canals and lagoons of Venice are part of its mystique.
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Credit: Chene Beck
St. Mark's Basilica
Standing in the heart of Venice, St. Mark's Basilica contains the
relics of Mark the Evangelist . . . and possibly more?
Credit: Tetraktys
Dandolo Preaching the Crusade
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Credit: Doré
Hagia Sophia in Istanbul
First it was a church, then a mosque and now a museum, Hagia
Sophia is one of the most easilyrecognized places in Istanbul.
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Credit: Jerzy Kociatkiewicz
Inside Hagia Sophia
This spectacular place contains a vast area, with many
mysterious objects, spaces and secrets. This golden image
inside the dome was painted by John Singer Sargent in 1891.
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Credit: Sargent
So....there you have as many illustrations as we can show you
without giving away too much of the story. For the rest, read the
book....
In real life the Templars who survived those fiery attacks during
Dante's day escaped to live in secrecy outside the law. That act
of defiance grew into a rebellion that gave them a measure of
revenge on the Vatican and kings who had attacked them. Their
story is now told in Sworn in Secret: Freemasonry and the
Knights Templar. It reads like a Dan Brown novel, with its trail of
clues that reveal the struggles between Templars and the
Vatican, but these are real people and events.
Two intriguing books
Dan Brown's Inferno Illustrations
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Inferno Sworn in Secret.
Is on sale now Is on sale now
Illustrations for Dan Brown's Inferno
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