Hell _ Dan Brown

It was a bronze Bible, and Langdon admired the two beautiful doors in front of him. Ghiberti's gleaming "Gate of Heaven" has ten square panels, five on each of the left and right doors, arranged lengthwise. From the Garden of Eden to Moses to the Temple of King Solomon, Ghiberti's sculptures present important scenes from the Old Testament of the Bible. This striking sequence has for centuries sparked a long and crowded debate among artists and art historians, with everyone from Botticelli to modern critics arguing for their preference for the "best panel.". According to the general consensus, the winner is "Jacob and Esau"-the left middle piece-which is said to be due to the use of a lot of artistic techniques in the production process. But Langdon guessed that the panel's real advantage was that Ghiberti had chosen it. Ignacio Busoni had proudly shown Langdon the two doors a few years earlier, and sheepishly admitted that after 500 years of floods, vandalism and air pollution, the original gilded doors had been quietly replaced by an exact replica, which is now safely stored in the Opera Museum of the Cathedral, awaiting restoration. As a courtesy,Slate Wall Panel, Langdon did not tell Busoni that he had known for a long time that these were well-made fakes, and that they were the second set of "copies" of Ghiberti's gates that Langdon had seen-the first set he had accidentally discovered while studying the labyrinth of Grace Cathedral in San Francisco. A replica of Ghiberti's "Gate of Heaven" has been used as the cathedral's main entrance since the mid-twentieth century. As Langdon stood in front of Ghiberti's masterpiece, a short sign next to it caught his attention. He was surprised to see a short word written in Italian on it. Lapestenera- "Black Death". My God, Langdon thought, I can see it everywhere! The sign explains that the two doors were commissioned to "make a vow" to God,Artificial Marble Slabs, to express gratitude to God for Florence's escape from the plague. Langdon forced himself to turn his gaze back to Heaven's Gate, and Ignacio Busoni's words rang in his heart again. The gate is reserved for you, but you must hurry. Despite Ignacio's promise, the "Gates of Heaven" are apparently tightly closed, and as usual, they are opened only occasionally on a religious holiday. Visitors usually enter the baptistery through the north door on the other side. Sienna stood on tiptoe beside him and looked over the crowd. "There is no handle on the door," she said. "There is no keyhole. There is nothing. Yes, Langdon thought, knowing that Ghiberti would never let something as mundane as a doorknob ruin his masterpiece. The door opens inward and the lock is inside. Sienna pursed her lips and thought for a moment. So from the outside.. No one will know if the door is locked. Langdon nodded. I hope that's exactly what Ignacio had in mind. He took a few steps to the right, Marble Projects ,Calacatta Nano Glass, and his eyes swept along the north side of the baptistery and landed on a much simpler door. That's the tourist entrance, and a bored guide nearby, smoking and gesturing to the tourists who came to inquire, told them to look at a sign at the entrance: apertura 1300-17001 (Italian: open from 13:00 to 17:00). It won't be open to the public for a few hours. Langdon was secretly pleased. No one has gone in yet. Instinctively, he wanted to look at his watch, only to realize once again that his Mickey Mouse watch had disappeared. When he turned to find Sienna, a group of tourists had gathered around her and were taking pictures through a simple iron fence. The fence, a few feet in front of Heaven's Gate, is designed to prevent visitors from getting too close to Ghiberti's masterpiece. The fence gate is made of black cast iron and topped with sunburst spikes painted in gold, much like the simple fences common around suburban homes. Somehow, instead of being installed on the spectacular bronze gate, the text board introducing the "Gate of Heaven" was installed on the very ordinary protective gate. Langdon had heard that the placement of the sign sometimes puzzled visitors, and sure enough, a fat woman in a Tangerine sweatsuit pushed her way through the crowd, glanced at the sign, frowned at the cast-iron door, and scoffed disdainfully: "The door of heaven?"? *** it, it's like my dog fence! She walked away before anyone could explain. Sienna reached for the protective gate and glanced carelessly through the bars at the lock behind it. "Listen," she whispered, turning to a stunned Langdon, "the padlock on the back is not locked." The gate is reserved for you, but you must hurry. Langdon looked up at Heaven's Gate inside the fence. If Ignacio really hadn't bolted the baptistery door, it would have opened as soon as it was pushed. But the challenge they faced was how to get inside without attracting the attention of anyone in the square, including the police and the cathedral doorman. Look! A woman beside him suddenly screamed. He's going to jump! Her voice was full of fear. It's on the clock tower! Langdon turned sharply from the gate and saw that it was Sienna who was screaming. She was standing five yards away, pointing to Giotto's clock tower, and shouting, "On the top!"! He's about to jump! All eyes turned to the sky, searching for the top of the clock tower. Other people around began to point there, squinting their eyes and shouting at each other. Someone's going to jump off a building?! "Where?" I can't see him! "On the left?" For a moment,Granite Slab Supplier, everyone in the square panicked and turned their eyes to the top of the clock tower. Like a hot wildfire sweeping across a field of hay, fear quickly spread throughout the square, and everyone craned their necks to look up and point with their fingers. forustone.com