Code 'is not gospel truth'
2005-02-19 20:26
Rome - Art experts and clerics are holding an unusual "trial" in the hometown of Leonardo da Vinci: concerned about the legions of fans of The Da Vinci Code who take claims in the book as gospel truth, the mock tribunal aims to sort out fact from fiction.
The event in Vinci, just outside of Florence, began on Friday with an opening statement by Alessandro Vezzosi, director of a Leonardo museum. He said he will produce photographs and documents as evidence of the mistakes and historical inaccuracies contained in Dan Brown's novel.
"Leonardo is misrepresented and belittled," Vezzosi said in a telephone interview before the event. "His importance is misunderstood, he was a man full of fantasy, inventions and genius."
Vezzosi said he will produce evidence through 120 photographs based on documents and paintings with the aim of "reassessing and disclaiming the author" of the mystical thriller, a mix of code-breaking, art history, secret societies, religion and lore.
Brown in the past has not said much about the controversy surrounding the blockbuster book, but he told NBC's Today in 2003 that while the novel's main character, Robert Langdon, is fictional, "all of the art, architecture, secret rituals, secret societies, all of that is historical fact".
Organisers said there would be nobody speaking in the Da Vinci Code's defence and the "verdict" would be contained within the presentations of the speakers. But that didn't mean the book would be completely hung out to dry: hundreds of the book's fans were expected to attend the trial at Vinci's Palazzina Uzielli.
"This initiative has received a lot of interest with people calling to confirm their attendance," Vezzosi said.
The Da Vinci Code has sold more than 7.5 million copies worldwide and is expected to be made into a movie. Its success has inspired guided tours in Paris that take fans to sites described in the novel, and has also spawned an industry in books seeking to debunk it.
More than 10 books have been written trying to discredit the historical and theological content of Brown's novel. The book portrays Roman Catholic leaders as demonising women for centuries and covering up the truth about the Holy Grail.
The novel's contentious allegations - that Jesus married Mary Magdalene and sired a bloodline - have provoked unprecedented protest among Roman Catholic and Protestant conservatives, who claimed that Brown's characters inaccurately malign Christianity.
Monsignor Renato Bellini, vicar of Vinci, said the book reveals nothing about religion and contains a mystifying and inaccurate portrait of the conservative Catholic movement Opus Dei.
"This book depicts the movement as a mysterious centre of political and economic power that tries to hide the truth, which is absurd," Bellini said.
Bellini said that a representative of Opus Dei is taking part in the mock trial in an attempt to reassess the historical truth about the movement.
- AP