[EmxATW5m]

WARNING: If you have not read the Da Vinci Code, skip my entire posting, as the plot is somewhat revealed......


On the Da Vinci Trail

You’ve read the book, now it’s time to hit the road. Sonia Faleiro decodes the route

Dan Brown’s The Da Vinci Code, a breathtaking tale of religion, art and skulduggery, has captured the global literary imagination. And literary travellers are following in the footsteps of Harvard symbologist Robert Langdon and Catholic sect Opus Dei in their quest for the Holy Grail—scouring the novel’s key locales in Paris, New York, Edinburgh, London and Rome for cryptic symbols hidden in Leonardo da Vinci’s artwork, and in the chapels and historic sites mentioned in the novel. So without giving away any secrets, here is a suggested tour with corresponding highlights from the book.


PARIS

FICTION: In Chapter 1, Langdon is awakened at the Hotel Ritz by the midnight arrival of the judicial police who inform him that the curator of the Louvre museum, Jacques Saunière, whom Langdon had an appointment with, has been brutally murdered.

FACT: Since its inauguration in 1898 by César Ritz, the hotel has been synonymous with unabashed luxury and classic style. The Ritz Escoffier cooking school, the Hemingway Bar and the Athenian swimming pool have indulged Coco Chanel, the Prince of Wales and Elton John, all of whom have suites named after them.

FICTION: In his dying moments, Saunière adjusted his body in the shape of Leonardo da Vinci’s The Vitruvian Man at the Louvre’s Grand Gallery, and scribbled a cryptic message on and around himself. His intention was simple: The secret must not die.

FACT: Tourists linger for hours over the gallery’s Italian section of Da Vincis, Titans, Raphaels and Arcimboldos. Leonardo’s favourite painting, the Mona Lisa or La Joconde in French, hangs in the gallery, protected by barriers, surveillance cameras and guards. The 24-year-old wife of Florentine millionaire Francesco del Giocondo was supposedly captured in oils in 1503, but Langdon debates this date as well as the secret of her mysterious smile.

FICTION: A quest for the truth takes Opus Dei member, the albino monk-assassin Silas, to Saint-Sulpice, a 17th-century cathedral overseen by nun Sister Sandrine.

FACT: Known as the Rive Gauche, the cathedral was the christening ground of the Marquis de Sade and Charles Baudelaire, and writer Victor Hugo celebrated his nuptials under the two Delacroix frescoes of Jacob Wrestling with the Angel and Heliodorus Driven from the Temple. The Rose Line, a narrow brass strip that marks the original zero-longitude line, is used by Silas as a landmark in his unholy mission.

FICTION: Unable to open Saunière’s Cryptex, Langdon and Saunière’s granddaughter Sophie Nevew, head to the home of Grail researcher Leigh Teabing.

FACT: Architect Francois Mansart built the 17th-century Château Villette, near the Château de Versailles in 1668 for Louis XIV’s ambassador to Venice. Known as la Petite Versailles, the mansion is three storeys high and sixty metres long, with 18 rooms and 17 bathrooms. It overlooks a stunning garden and pond designed by the architect of the gardens at Versailles, André Le Nôtre. Not a tourist destination, the Château may be rented for 6,500 euros daily for a minimum of one week.


ROME

FICTION: Opus Dei’s Bishop Manuel Aringarosa is invited to a secret meeting with the Secretariat Vaticana at Castle Gandolfo, deep in the Alban Hills. He departs the gloomy castle with the price of freedom.

FACT: The Castle Gandolfo on Albano Lake outside Rome has been the Pope’s summer residence since the 17th century.

Built in 1626 by architect Carlo Maderno, the palace offers views of expansive greens, the Tyrrhenian Sea, the nearby Church of Saint Thomas of Villanova and the Pontiff’s Palace. Its Renaissance structure is an appropriate cocoon for the Vatican Observatory and Astronomy Library, the latter holding 25,000 rare works of Copernicus and Kepler, among others.


NEW YORK

FICTION: Described by Brown as an exceedingly conservative and wealthy organisation that demands chastity and corporeal mortification of its members, Opus Dei is a personal prelature founded in 1928 by St Josemaría Escrivá. It has 80,000 members, and its headquarters and prelatic church are in Rome.

FACT: Unmarked but remarkably conceived, its American centre is a 33,000-square-foot monolith on 243 Lexington Avenue. It was designed by the firm of Max & Pinska for more than $47 million and incorporates seven marbled chapels and sacristies, 100 bedrooms, six dining rooms, meeting halls and libraries. It has separate entrances for men and women on different streets.


SCOTLAND

FICTION: After breaking the second Cryptex Code, Langdon and Sophie Nevew proceed to the miner’s village of Roslin, outside Edinburgh where the novel culminates.

FACT: Built by the Knight’s Templar in 1446, the Rosslyn Chapel is as memorable for its quantity of stone carvings and religious symbols as for its mythical status as the dwelling place of the Holy Grail.

According to Brown, ‘‘ground-penetrating radar revealed the presence of an astonishing structure beneath the chapel—Not only did this deep vault dwarf the chapel atop it, but it appeared to have no entrance or exit. Archaeologists petitioned to begin blasting through the bedrock to reach the mysterious chamber, but the Rosslyn Trust expressly forbade any excavation of the sacred site.’’


And thus, the mystery continues.


http://www.indianexpress.com/full_st...ntent_id=48158

[DrunkMans]

i have not seen one movie do justice to a novel...well ok besides LOTR

[RenyBontes]

NOV,

A zillion thanks for introducing this fantastic Novel here in this hub. And a special thanks to Cygnus for tempting me to purchase it.

Even though I came across a few write ups about this controversial novel in some magazines including Kumudam, I never expected so much of facts in a fiction based story. More than two-third of the book is based on facts and the author has splendidly mixed the facts and imagination in such a way, that any one who reads - would think it's a real-life story.

Reading this novel had given me the opportunity of learning many new things - for which I had some interest already. Till now I've been surfing the net looking for more and more info on certain issues addressed by the author. To mention a few; Interpretations of Leonardo da Vinci's paintings such as The Monalisa, The Vitruvian Man, The Last Supper, Madonna of the Rocks and it's second version Virgin of the Rocks.

I have also been looking for details about the interpretations of symbols and anagrams, the secret society called Priory of Sion, the controversial Vatican prelature and a deeply devout catholic sect Opus Dei and it's dangerous practice called Corporal Mortification and some very crucial incidents that had occurred during the medeaval period - especially during the time of Constantine and many more interesting and surprising facts.

I specially enjoyed the chapters that involved conversation among Robert Langdon, Sophie Neveu and Leigh Teabing. And I'm repeating those chapters for the third time

Overall it was a GREAT read and now I'm tempted to purchase his Angels and Demons - which features Robert Langdon again. I simply loved that decent, intelligent, smart and level headed character

[Promotiona]

what i dont understand is that when you re-read something...you may forget some parts but mostly you remember the everything else...doesn't that bore you?...or can you actually find new things and understand the story more so as you read it each time over?

Actually I have 100s of books, and I cannot remember all the plots except for some familiarity. Mostly I read them at about five year intervals. I just finished reading Exodus, which I last read in the 80s!
Some books I do read again for better comprehension and these inclkude all Harry Potter and now Dan Brown books. At the first reading, I get carried away by the suspense and good writing that I miss some important tho minor stuff.
Also, once you know the ending, when you re read them, you tend to understand the author's descriptions, better. Like seeing a movie for a second time.

Welcome AR!

[Immarsecice]

hey NOV tnx for the link [website of Dan Brown ] i haven't read his book .but i was very much interested in reading info about him..soon i willread his "da vinci code".if u have any other authors links plz..do tag them also here ok!!

[thighikergove]

@ blah blah

[logpogingg]

NOV!!!

I just LOVED this book, the historical background, the extensive symbolism, the etymology of everyday words we don't think twice about, everything about it was riveting at best! And I got my husband (who is not a fan of fiction) to read it too! I am going to start Angels and Demons pretty soon. Did you hear about the movie deal though? Tom Hanks, one of my all time favorite actors, will play Langdon I hope they don't reduce Sophie Neveu to some blond bombshell

[Nopayof]

This is the official site of Brown. I suggest that you read at least one of his books, before going into the site.

http://www.danbrown.com/

[pXss8cyx]

Roshan!

Great to hear from you!

I *highly* recommend Angels and Demons as well. It was in my opinion, at par, if not little better than DVC!
I bought the new illustrated version of DVC too Couldn't resist!

I just have one confusion though, remember the part where "Madonna of the rocks" and "Virgin of the rocks" are discussed ? I don't get exactly what Brown is attempting to say

Baby Jesus is still being blessed by Baby John the Baptist in the "watered-down" version too, contrary to Brown's ideas. Did I read it right or are my eyes bad??

Could anyone venture an explanation?

[salomal-qask]

NOV,
I recently bought this book. Just started reading it between long hours of work and FHing
Darn good start, "several PhDs worth of research" shines through in every line!

EXACTLY Cygnus. That is why I am recommending this book to all, including cynics of fiction work.

[VXHLrsO1]

You guys are tempting me so much that I'm going to get Angels and Demons 1st!! Read the synopsis on the cover at Popular Bookstore. They're giving a 20% discount, so let me read up 1st and then I'll join you!!

In my opinion, AnD has a better climax than DVC. Enjoy Nirosha!
20% discount? All Popular stores?
Then I must get the fourth book. hehehehe

[MzTT]

NOV!!!

I just LOVED this book, the historical background, the extensive symbolism, the etymology of everyday words we don't think twice about, everything about it was riveting at best! And I got my husband (who is not a fan of fiction) to read it too! I am going to start Angels and Demons pretty soon.

Great!
Yes, he is a remarkable writer, isnt he?
Gives a new meaning to the word unputdownable.

Did you hear about the movie deal though? Tom Hanks, one of my all time favorite actors, will play Langdon I hope they don't reduce Sophie Neveu to some blond bombshell

Yucks! I am sure that the movie will not do justice to the book.
And Tom Hanks? puhleeeez. (

[trilochana.nejman]

You guys are tempting me so much that I'm going to get Angels and Demons 1st!! Read the synopsis on the cover at Popular Bookstore. They're giving a 20% discount, so let me read up 1st and then I'll join you!!

[yK2VgoEI]

hey NOV tnx for the link [website of Dan Brown ] i haven't read his book .but i was very much interested in reading info about him..soon i willread his "da vinci code".if u have any other authors links plz..do tag them also here ok!!

Well, I have the whole collections of John Grisham, Sydney Sheldon, Harold Robbins and a few others. I also read Jeffrey Archer.

Some links:

http://library.msstate.edu/grisham_room/
http://www.randomhouse.com/features/grisham/author.html

http://www.twbookmark.com/features/s...don/index.html

http://www.authorsontheweb.com/featu...er-jeffrey.asp

[NeroASERCH]

Roshan, great to hear that you've started DVC, I just finished Angels& Demons, it was even better!! I got to find time and write my thoughts about these books. I did not expect to get entangled in mystery fiction this much.
Happy reading!

[luspikals]

Hi Guys ,the Da Vinci Code movie is supposed to be shot at a French Museum.Is it true?

[ditpiler]

Ayyo, don't take what our friend Brown says in the Da Vinci Code to be facts.

FACT: Built by the Knight’s Templar in 1446, the Rosslyn Chapel is as memorable for its quantity of stone carvings and religious symbols as for its mythical status as the dwelling place of the Holy Grail. That would have been quite a trick, given that the Templars were officially outlawed in 1312. But that's typical of the treatment of dates in the book. From the way he writes, you'd think the witch-hunts and the inquisition started right after Constantine's conversion to Christianity, rather than nearly a thousand years later.

As far as the Priory of Sion hypothesis is concerned, a French judge in 1993 held that the Priory of Sion was a hoax, and Mr. Pierre Plantard has since them been under a court-issued "cease and desist" order that requires him to refrain from doing anything related to the promotion of this hoax.

So whilst it's a well-paced thriller with an interesting (and different) plot, it should be treated strictly as a work of fiction.

[drugsprevi]

Hi NOV,Talent and independent thinking were never accepted in the church. Do you know that a little known organisation in Lebanon[Christian Publishing Services or something] forced the govt to ban this book irrespective of it being a Muslim majority nation?But the ban not withstanding, people are running for a copy of this book there. I think there should be some way to establish the right to liberal thinking and expression.

[RildFiemodo]

Hi Nov, Thanks for the info. The details I read about Dan Brown are pretty much tempting to read him. I shall try Da vinci Code sooner and get back to you. Thanks again.

[duribass]

NOV and Cygs,

Sorry for the late response guys ! I'll post a write up in a day or two on 'Da vinci code'. Was a fine experince reading it.