Robert Langdon, #1
Angels & Demons
by Dan Brown
Contents
70
Overview
Glick and Macri secretly film Olivetti’s armed search at the church, unknowingly capturing evidence of the Vatican investigation as it moves into public view. Langdon determines that Bernini’s angel points southwest, identifying the direction of the next Illuminati marker and linking it to Air.
Unable to see beyond the surrounding buildings or recall the relevant Bernini work, Langdon decides to climb the church scaffolding for a better vantage point. The chapter shifts urgency toward locating the second altar before the next cardinal is killed, while the BBC’s hidden footage raises the risk that the crisis will become a media spectacle.
Summary
Gunther Glick and Chinita Macri sit hidden in the BBC van at the edge of Piazza del Popolo after following four cars to the church. Chinita records as armed men in civilian clothes surround the building, blow open the locks, and enter with military precision, while Glick presses her to keep filming.
Chinita remains cautious, noting that the strange scene could still have a mundane explanation, but Glick is convinced they are capturing something important. When Robert Langdon emerges from the church, Chinita focuses the camera on him, and both journalists watch closely from the shadows.
Langdon runs into the piazza and tries to determine where Bernini’s angel was pointing. Reconstructing the orientation of the Chigi Chapel and the sculpture inside it, Langdon concludes that the next marker lies southwest, toward the setting sun.
Langdon connects the next stage of the Path of Illumination to Air, following Earth, but cannot immediately remember a Bernini work associated with that element. Because buildings block the view and time is running out, Langdon returns to Vittoria and Olivetti and says they need a map showing Rome’s churches.
When Langdon realizes the scaffolding on the church façade rises high enough to give him a better view, he starts climbing it. From the van, Chinita and Glick keep filming Langdon’s ascent, joking about the danger, their abandoned conclave assignment, and the possibility of a major story.
Who Appears
- Robert LangdonDetermines the angel points southwest and climbs scaffolding to locate the next marker.
- Chinita MacriBBC camera operator who films the raid, Langdon, and the unfolding scene from hiding.
- Gunther GlickBBC reporter excited by the possible scoop and urges Chinita to keep recording.
- Vittoria VetraMeets Langdon outside the church and listens as he identifies the marker’s direction.
- Commander OlivettiLeads the armed search and reacts skeptically when Langdon reports the southwest direction.