Many of those who have read Dan Brown’s new book, Inferno, have come away with more than just a look at history and art and a new appreciation for Dante’s masterpiece The Divine Comedy. For many readers, the book has served as a travel guide, or at least a suggestion for new places to check out during a vacation. The book describes protagonist Robert Langdon’s journey through various locations in Florence and Venice, Italy; and Istanbul, Turkey. Florence, in particular, has attracted Dan Brown and Robert Langdon fans. The city has welcomed it’s new crop of visitors with open arms. If you want to take your own Inferno tour of Florence, here are some of the places that should be top on your list to visit.
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Boboli Gardens. It’s this famous park’s hidden grottoes that matter the most to Robert Langdon and his partner Sienna Brooks in the novel Inferno, but visitors to Florence will be enthralled with the gorgeous gardens and trees as well as the fountains and sculptures found within the open air museum. Boboli Gardens is part of the Pitti Palace, a Florence museum that’s definitely worth a tour in its own right, and it’s through the museum that you’ll find the entrance to the gardens. The gardens are open most days, except for the first and last Monday of each month and certain holidays. The purchase of a ticket for admission is required.
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Palazzo Vecchio. In Inferno, Robert Langdon awakens to find himself in a hospital with no memory of the last few days and in a place far removed from where he last remembers being. It’s the sight of the Palazzo Vecchio tower (pictured to the right,) a famous Florence monument, that lets him know that he’s somehow managed to get from the Harvard University campus to Florence, Italy. Langdon must find his way through a number of hidden doors and secret passageways in the Palazzo Vecchio, all of which actually exist. But while Langdon must use these doors and passageways to make his escape, visitors will enjoy learning the interesting histories behind these doors, and how they have been used in Florence’s past.
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The Baptistery of Saint John. This location marks a critical juncture in Robert Langdon’s most recent adventure, and fittingly so. The Baptistery was the place where Dante himself was baptized, along with many other famous residents of Florence. The golden doors that Langdon enters through were designed by Lorenzo Ghiberti and called the Doors to Paradise by the great Michelangelo. Visitors, however, will have to content themselves with entering by a side door, since the magnificent doors that Dan Brown describes are actually only opened on special occasions.
Of course, Florence has a lot more to offer than just the sites described in the Dan Brown novel. While you’re there, be sure to take some time to tour the rest of the historic and famous Italian city as well. Click here to view our Escorted Tours to Italy.
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