Dan Brown's Inferno in Florence

Here we go. Finally the new, highly expected Dan Brown's book is on sale in bookshops. But "Inferno" had already topped the charts of the major sites in the world for pre-sales already even before its official release. Already a success story, in short, and a closely guarded secret until the end, with translators closed for months in a bunker of Mondadori in Milan without being able to reveal absolutely nothing about the plot.

Nothing was left to chance, even the date of publication, the 14.05.2013, simultaneously worldwide in the United States, Great Britain and Italy. The date is in fact an anagram of the numerical value of pi: 3.1415. That is the track to measure the concentric circles of Dante's Inferno.

Yes, because Dante, together with his city, Florence, is the true protagonist of the new Dan Brown's bestseller. The novel is in fact set in the Tuscan city and in the nine circles of Dante's Inferno.

In this new work, we find again Robert Langdon, professor of Religious Symbology at Harvard University, former star of "The Da Vinci Code", "Angels and Demons" and "The Lost Symbol", who this time, has to deal with Dante, together with the partner on call, the beautiful and clever Dr. Sienna Brooks.

Langdon, we said, is in Florence this time and, for a change, someone is trying to kill him, while he is studying Dante Alighieri. On his trail there is the Consortium, a criminal organization driven by a movement called Transhumanism and guided by the scientist Bertrand Zobrist.

To save his life the professor will have to move with cunning and intelligence among the narrow streets of the Renaissance city and between the circles of Dante's symbolism. There are of course the twists and turns in this thriller, that of "hellish" certainly has a lot. And then lots and lots of symbolism, rhythm and faceted and complex characters. It is a dark and terrifying thriller, according to the author himself, where the Florentines and the people who love Florence will be able to find many of their favorite corners of the city. In fact the same Dan Brown has visited the city several times to be able to better describe it: from the most famous squares and churches to those slightly more defilate as the church of Santa Maria dei Cerchi, perhaps not much known to the public, but definitely important because, according to legend, it was here that Dante met his beloved Beatrice.

The trailer of the book was entirely shot in Florence, between the places of the mystery that we find in the plot, including Piazza Duomo, Ponte Vecchio, the Hall of 500 in Palazzo Vecchio, Piazzale Michelangelo and much more. Robert Langdon moves through Florence as one of the family, among the David and Piazza della Signoria, the Boboli Garden and Palazzo Vecchio, to solve the mystery linked to the vision of Hell in the Divine Comedy.

With 200 million copies sold with the previous thrillers (81 only with The Da Vinci Code), this new work promises very well, so that according to the insiders it will be the book of the year with a good chance to remain at the top of the hits parade until December. We'll see. In the meantime, happy reading!