The book, recently released in bookstores, mentions the city and the well-known event linked to the election of Pope Gregory
VITERBO – In the United States of America we think of the City of the Popes, in particular one of the most famous writers in the world, Glenn Cooper, does so, who with his most recent novel “The Last Conclave”, published by Nord, does not forget to remember the capital of Tuscia.
The quote, clearly, is the one referring to the papal election of 1268-1271, held at the Palace of the Popes, after the death of Clement IV. The longest in the history of the Catholic Church, which ended with the election of Tedaldo Visconti, later known as Gregory before leaving the cardinals with bread and water and then even without a ceiling, leading to the roof of the building symbolizing the city being taken off.
An event so exceptional that it echoes throughout the world, in particular that of the Catholic Church, and which today is still celebrated and remembered also thanks to great writers such as Glenn Cooper who deserve to be invited to Viterbo, so as to further amplify the diffusion of the name of the city.
This is the official plot of the book, obviously present in all Viterbo bookshops:
“When, just two years after his election, Pope John XXIV is found dead in his bed, the Vatican must quickly overcome the shock and organize a new conclave. On the opening day, after the traditional procession of the cardinal electors, the Extra omnes is sanctioned and the doors are closed. In the afternoon the faithful await the outcome of the first vote, however the hours pass and no smoke, neither black nor white, comes out of the chimney on which thousands of cameras are focused. Caught between the obligations of the ceremony and an increasingly strong sense of restlessness, the Secretary of State Elisabetta Celestino decides to carry out an unprecedented act: breaking the seal of the conclave and opening the doors. And the scene before him is surreal. The Sistine Chapel is empty. The cardinal electors have vanished into thin air. Arriving at the Vatican as a CNN contributor to comment on the conclave, Cal Donovan immediately joins the investigation into that seemingly impossible disappearance. And, while the world remains in suspense waiting for news, little by little Cal realizes with horror that this is only the last piece of a plan hatched by a group of powerful and determined people, people who for eight centuries they plot in the shadows to wash away the sins of the Church in blood and rebuild it from the foundations…”.
