Reading – Angels and Demons by Dan Brown, p. 227- 263

In chapter 56, Vittoria and Langdon explain what they have found out to Olivetti.  He finally agrees to send some of his men to the Pantheon

In chapter 57, Kohler wakes up in a private room in the CERN infirmary.  He quietly leaves.

In chapter 58, Vittoria convinces Olivetti to let her go inside the Pantheon to see if the killer is already inside.  Langdon goes with her and they hold hands to pretend they are newlyweds.  Langdon is given a gun and puts it in his pocket.

In chapter 59, the second-in-command of the Swiss Guard, Captain Elias Rocher, is prepping his men about finding the antimatter.  Rookie Lieutenant Chartrand listens and regrets having joined the Swiss Guard.

In chapter 60, Langdon and Vittoria walk into the Pantheon.

In chapter 61, Langdon and Vittoria split up to look around for anyone that could be hiding.  A guild at the Pantheon talks to Langdon.  Vittoria finds Raphael Santi’s tomb and reads the plaque beside it.  She then dashes in horror across the room to Langdon.

In chapter 62, they realize that the dates don’t match up.  Raphael wasn’t buried at the Pantheon until 1759; a century after Diagramma was published.  Langdon realizes that he misunderstood the clue.  It’s not Raphael’s burial site that they need, it is a tomb that Raphael designed for someone else.  With the help of the guild, they figure out that the correct church is the Chigi Chapel, which used to be called Capella della Terra – “Chapel of the Earth.”  They leave the Pantheon and tell Olivetti that they had the wrong place and that the first altar of science is at the Chigi Chapel.  They have four minutes before the first cardinal is murdered and they get into a taxi to go to the chapel.

In chapter 63, Gunther Glick shows Chinita Macri that the Illuminati do exist by showing her past news stories about them.

In chapter 64, Langdon and Vittoria arrive at the Chigi Chapel.  On the church’s front entrance there is a sign warning “Contruzione. Non Entrare.” The church is closed for renovation and the front door won’t open.  They try to find another entrance.  Langdon thinks that if there is another way in, it’s probably recessed in the rear bastion as more of an escape route than an entrance.  At the end of an alley, a stone bulwark jutted out from the base of the rear wall of the church concealing a narrow, compressed passageway cutting directly into the foundation of the church.  They make their way through the passageway until they find a heavy wooden door that once was locked but is not any more.  Vittoria takes the gun.

I like how Langdon at first got the clue wrong and went to the wrong place.  I think it shows that he is not perfect at solving everything.  I also think it’s funny how at first the guild at the Pantheon really annoys Langdon, but he turns out to be really helpful for them.  I like Langdon and Vittoria as a pair.  I think it’s really similar to Langdon and Sophie’s relationship in the Da Vinci Code.  They met as strangers and are now going on this insane adventure to solve a mystery and they are now learning to really trust one another.  I like the way their relationship has progressed so far.