From Santi s earthly tomb with demon s hole Cross

“From Santi’s earthly tomb with demon’s hole, ‘Cross Rome the mystic elements unfold. The path of light is laid, the sacred test, Let angels guide you on your lofty quest. ”

From this quatrain, belonging to Galileo’s “Diagramma”, start the searches of Langdon and Vittoria. They are looking for the four Science’s Altar, where four cardinals will be killed.

By the first phrase they understand that they have to go to Chigi Chapel, known as Chapel of the Earth. Here they discover a dead cardinal’s s body, branded by the mythical ambigram of earth. Now they are looking for he air’s ambigram, placed in S. Peter square.

Arrived there they reach Caligola’s Obelisk, to the whose base there is “West Ponente” : an elipse carved with the image of a bollowing gust of wind, symbolizing the air.

• • • Domenico Fontana in 1586 moved it to Rome Pope Sixtus V changes its position It’s like Esquilino obelisk and Quirinale obelisk Height 25, 37 meters, weight 32 tons Not usual hieroglyphs

After a short time here is murdered the second cardinal, who is branded by the mythical ambigram of Air.

Fifteen days before the Pope died and so Langdon and Vittoria decide to go to Grotte Vaticane to see the Pope ‘s body and they discover that he was poisoned;

The Coves Vaticans extend under the navata one center them of a Basilica of Saint Peter, three meters under it put into effect them pavement, from the greater altar (therefore said papal altar) until to approximately half of the navata one; they form a true one and own church basement that occupies the space between it puts into effect them pavement of the basilica and that one of the ancient costantiniana basilica of IV the century. The narrow spaces, characterize to you from lowered times to botte, were dig to you from the rinascimentali architects in order to prepare the foundations of put into effect them basilica.

In the meantime the camerlengo, the Pope representative, goes to Sistina Chapel to exhort the cardinals to continue the conclave altough the killings.

The Sistine Chapel is chapel in the Apostolic Palace, the Pope residence. • Exterior • Interior • Decoration

The Sistine Chapel is a high rectangular brick building. The internal spaces are divided into three storeys. The building had six tall arched windows down each side and two at a either end. Several of these have been blocked. Above the vault rises a third storey with wardrooms for guards. At this level was constructed an open projecting gangway wich encirclled the building supported on an arcade springing from the walls. The gangway has been roofed as it was a continual source of water penetration to the vault of the Chapel. The building is roofed with pantiles. Subsidence and cracking of masonry such as must also have affected the Cappella Maggiore has necessitated the building of very large buttresses to brace the exterior walls. The accretion of other buildings has further altered the exterior appearance of the Chapel.

Clearly defined proportions were a feature of Renaissance architecture and reflected the growing interest in the Classical heritage of Rome. The pavement is in opus alexandrinum, a decorative style using marble and coloured stone. The screen or transenna in marble by Mino da Fiesole, Andrea Bregno and Giovanni Dalmata divides the chapel in two parts. The sculptors of the transenna also provided the cantoria or projecting choir gallery.

The pictorial decoration of the Sistine Chapel comprises frescoes and a set of tapestries. The lower is decorated with frescoed wall hangings in silver and gold. The central tier of the walls has two cycles of paintings, which complement each other, The Life of Moses and The Life of Christ executed by Ghirlandaio, Botticelli, Perugino and Cosimo Rosselli. Raffaello design a series of tapestries. The depict the lives of the two leaders among the Apostles who established the Christian church in Rome, Saints Peter and Paul. The wall paintings were executed by pemier painters: Perugino, Botticelli, Ghirlandaio, Rossellini. The subjects were historical religious themes.

Around the arched tops of the windows areas known as the lunettes which contain the Ancestors of Christ, painted by Michelangelo as part of the scheme for the ceiling. The ceiling painted by Michelangelo has a series of nine paintings showing God’s creation of the World, God’s relationship with Mankind and Makind’s fall from God’s Grace. On the large pendentives are painted twelve Biblical and Classical men and women.

Then Langdon and Vittoria go to Santa Maria della Vittoria and here they found another dead cardinal’s body. This time branded by the ambirgam of fire. The murder is still there and he captures Vittoria.

Langdon understand that the last science’s altar is at Navona Square but he cant prevent the klilling of the last cardinal, branded by the ambigram of water. Afterwards Langdon saves Victoria and, kills the murder and together they discover the Illuminati plan.

The books ends with Langdon and Vittoria that go to the Camerlengo to save him but at the end they understand that he’s Giano, the Illuminati’s leader, and that he organized this plan to obtain fame and become Pope.

Surely the author choose Saint Peter as a Science’s Altar because it ranks second among the seven major Basilicas of Rome. Possibly the largest church building in christianity it’s full of statues, frescoes and beautiful architectural elements. • • • History Inside’s Structure Interior Dome Square

Construction was begun on the order of the Roman emperor Costantine I between 326 an 333, and took about 30 years to complete. Papal coronations began to be held here, and in 800, Charlemagne was crowned emperor of the Holy Roman Empire. At first Pope Julius II had every intention of preserving the old building, but his attention soon turned toward tearing it down and building a new structure. Many people of the time were shocked by the proposal but in the end, the design of the new basilica attempted to reconsacrate these remains as much as possible. The original altar was preserved in the new structure which would house it.

• • • Five aisles Over 350 feet long Latin cross Gabled roof Atrium Mosaic of Constantine and Saint Peter • Salomonic columns

• Monuments and memorials • Piety and Baldachin • Saint Peter Enthroned • Pio XI and Pio XII • Chapel of the Blessed Sacrament • Leone XI and Innocent XI • St. Peter’s crucifixion, St. Joseph, St. Thomas

• Marble sculpture • Cardinal Jean De Billheres • Michelangelo • Crucifixion • Quite out of proportions • Created in two years • Belonging to XVIII century

• Large sculpted bronze artwork • Bernini • Placed Saint Peter’s tomb • Baroque • Gilded statues of angels

• • Michelangelo 1546 Spherical 120 meters above the floor • 42, 3 meters in interior diameter • Fontana built the lantern “You are Peter and on this rock I will built my church, I will give you the keys of the kingdom of heaven”.

• Bernini • 1656 – 1667 • Elliptical colonnade • Two pairs of doric columns • Baroque architecture • Two fountains by Maderno and Bernini

Created by: Maria Elisabetta Ghisu, Alessia Palombi, Manuela Spera, Ludovica Plini, Manuel Cardella, Giulia Cappellazzo.