Naples, June 17, 18:30
Four days to the summer solstice
We walked quickly up to Spaccanapoli and turned left at the intersection with Via San Sebastiano, skirting the massive base of the bell tower of Santa Chiara. Arriving in Piazza del Gesù Nuovo we stopped under the beautiful eighteenth century obelisk. The late afternoon light helped create the effect we had expected.
“It would seem that they were already aware of the disturbing side of the statue atop the spire in the 1770s,” said Carlo, his nose in the air and his eyes fixed on the back of the statue.
I walked a few metres closer, staring at the sculpture. “Well, you said it yourself – we are talking about Raimondo de Sangro – not exactly an ordinary person. There! You see?”
Carlo nodded. “I shouldn’t say it… I mean, it’s the Virgin Mary… but it makes me cringe every time I walk past here.”
The front part of the statue, on top of the spire of the same name, shows the Virgin Mary standing on a crescent moon and crushing the biblical serpent. But seen from the rear, the side facing the church of the Gesù Nuovo, the flowing mantle of the Virgin becomes the black cape of death, complete with hood and scythe. Neapolitans, who are always very attentive to hidden messages, have often wondered whether that effect was intentional or simply an accidental optical illusion. The Prince of Sansevero seems to have taken the matter very seriously.
“‘Our Virgin Earth, is transformed into blackness by the darkness of Death,’” I muttered. “That part seems to have been taken from a text on alchemy.”
“The reference to the three stages of the Great Work is also repeated in the other two introductions I picked out,” confirmed Carlo.
“Well let’s get started, then. ‘Depart from the second diamond which does not shine but which is more precious than any other stone, and a part of the four ingredients you will obtain. Mix them over heat into a colourless glassy paste, add our boiled dew, which you already have in two separate parts, and in a few hours you will have a most precious ruby. Keep it, as it is the key which will open the doors at the end of your trip.’ Depart from the second diamond…”
We turned at once to the church of the Gesù Nuovo behind us. The beautiful facade, which predated the Jesuit temple and had been built for the Renaissance Palazzo Sanseverino before it was transformed into a church, was covered with projecting pyramid-shaped bosses. Pyramids – or diamonds. Hard blocks of trachyte upon which the stonemasons had carved mysterious symbols.
“Here they are – the prince’s diamonds,” I said, pointing to the second central panel from the left.
“Yes, no doubt about it,” admitted Carlo, “so the hypothesis we have repeatedly discussed, that the signs carved by the stonemasons are actually alchemical symbols…”
“Is confirmed, and by an authoritative voice, too.”
We took note of the symbols as reported in the Peregrino Neapolitano, each corresponding to a specific substance. Convinced that there was an alchemical meaning in those strange marks, in fact, we had studied the sequence carved onto the facade of the church many times before and traced them back to the various materials, metals or other substances which the signs made reference to. It wouldn’t be difficult to follow the prince’s directions.
I looked at the list that I had put together and shook my head doubtfully.
“What’s the matter? Something that doesn’t convince you?” asked Carlo.
“The ‘boiled dew’ mentioned by the prince…”
“Don’t you think it’s that dew? The one we have always used in our experiments?”
“Hmm, yes, maybe… but if by chance it isn’t, we might be wasting valuable time standing here trying to figure it out.”
Carlo said nothing, but stared at the facade with its mysterious bosses then looked at his watch. “Talking of time, the brothers will be arriving.”
“Right, let’s get going.”