The thriller novel “Inferno” by Dan Brown has achieved a resounding success all over the world and it is now considered a masterpiece of contemporary literature. It has also inspired a movie with Tom Hanks, released in cinemas on October 13th.
So why don’t you make the most out of your holiday in Tuscany to retrace his steps and to accompany Professor Langdon in Florence? Here’s a list of the mentioned places in the novel as well as some extra information that will allow you to transform into the book’s protagonist and to see the city under a totally new point of view.
1) BADIA BELL TOWER/BADIA FIORENTINA
Via del Proconsolo, 50122 Firenze. Ingresso Gratuito.
In the first chapter, the Shadow plunges from the bell tower in order to escape from his chasers. The Badia Fiorentina in one of the oldest churches in Florence but it’s not so well known, because it’s hidden between other buildings where it almost camouflages itself. It was founded in 978 as a Benedictine Abbey, in 1285 the architect Arnolfo di Cambio accomplished a gothic-style restoration and in 1627 it was renewed once again. The bell tower was erected between 1310 and 1330 and it stands out in the Florentine skyline between Palazzo Vecchio and the Bargello.
2)PORTA ROMANA AND THE ART INSTITUTE
Piazzale di Porta Romana, 9
The “Porta Romana” is Florence southern door, it’s the best conserved (it dates back to 1326) and it leads directly to its historic center. On its right, there is the access door to the “Giardino di Boboli” used by Sienna and Langdon in the book, while straight ahead you will find a tree-lined boulevard leading to the “Istituto d’arte di porta Romana”. In the past, this building hosted the royal stables and a collection of thousands of chalk statues.
3)GIARDINO DI BOBOLI
Piazza Pitti, 1. Free entrance under 18 years old and Florence residents. 7€ from palazzo pitti and Forte del Belvedere entrances, 10€ from Porta Romana entrance, 3,50€ for UE citizens between 18 and 25.
The Florentine “cetral park” is a real open-air museum and the most famous example of the “Italian garden”. It was commissioned by the Medici family and, afterwards, it hosted Tuscany’s Grand Dukes and Italy’s king. In his 45000 square meters’ area there are hidden architectural, artistic and natural treasures: not even Langdon, during his escape, can stay indifferent in front of their beauty. Together with Sienna, he reaches the “Grotta del Buontalenti”, a splendid space divided in three smaller rooms that imitates a natural grotto and that hosts some important art masterpieces.
4) CORRIDOIO VASARIANO
Through a small door in Palazzo Pitti, the couple enters into the hallway to reach Palazzo Vecchio quickly and indiscreetly. It’s actually an 800-meters secret passage commissioned by Cosimo I de’Medici in 1565 to Giorgio Vasari, in order to guarantee an escape route for his family in case of necessity. It conserves dozens of beautiful paintings but it’s not so easy to see them: the visits to the Corridoio are exclusively guided, on reservation and for alimited number of visitors.
5) PALAZZO VECCHIO
Piazza della Signoria. Free entrance under 18 years old; Reduced prica: 8€ (for university students, over 65 and 18-25); full price:12€.
The hallway ends inside Palazzo Vecchio, which is a building in “bugnato rustico” erected in 1299 by Arnolfo di Cambio and that today hosts Florence town council. A part of it has been transformed into a museum with masterpieces of artists like Verrocchio, Bronzino and Michelangelo. Through a series of secret passages, Sienna and Robert reach the Sala delle Carte Geografiche, the area above the “Salone dei Cinquecento” (with Vasari’s “Battaglia di Marciano”), the “Studiolo di Francesco I” and the hallway with Dante death mask . I suggest to try the “Passaggi segreti” tour (offered by Palazzo Vecchio) or the new “I luoghi dell’inferno”, to discover all the places mentioned by the book.
6) MUSEO CASA DI DANTE
Via S. Margherita, 1. Full price: 4€; Reduced price: 2€
It’s in this area that the Alighieri family inhabited and where Dante was born in 1265: today, their house hosts a three-floors museum about the poet and his “Divine Comedy”. Sienna and Langdon are unable to get in because, as it’s Monday, they find it closed: even in the real world Monday is its closing day.
7) BATTISTERO DI SAN GIOVANNI
The last step of their adventure is the Battistero di San Giovanni, where they find Dante’s mask hidden in the baptismal fontd. Built in 1128 with white and green marble, the building has three bronze doors made by Andrea Pisano and Lorenzo Ghiberti, among which the famous Porta del Paradiso. In addition to the font, inside the Battistero there is also a huge and precious mosaic that immediately captures the attentions of those who get in.
