Inhabitants of that mountain top village over 100 years ago reported hearing the operatic voice of Emma Calve coming from Sauniere`s Villa Bethania. The authors of "Holy Blood, Holy Grail" report that there is a stone in the Grotto of the Magdalene carved with a heart and the name of Emma Calve. Perhaps Sauniere worked on this stone on his return from Rome in May of 1900 when he received a note from La Diva saying that she had come to visit him and to see his church and was sorry to have missed him. Given the great effort that journey required, we can surmise that the priest meant a lot to her. In the diary, Castillon outlines the history of the area which Emma had learned from Sauniere as well as Sauniere`s future plans for his parish. Their visit pre-dated Sauniere`s grand building projects.

Emma Calve had gone to a great deal of effort to visit the priest and had disguised her identity to the locals. She asked Castillon to play along with her charade and had fun pretending to be someone else. It is not surprising that there would be no record of this visit. At the end of their excursion, Emma remarked to Castillon that they had been on a fool's errand because the priest was not there - he had been called away to Rome by the Bishop of Carcassonne. The translator of the diary thought the account to be anti-climactic as well because they were not able to see the priest, but thanks to the wanderings of Castillon through the priest's quarters and out-of-doors, the reader learns much more than if Sauniere had been on the premises to greet them.

Apparently the esoteric leanings Emma Calve did not keep her from participating in the Catholic religion, she and Sauniere met in 1893 at San Sulpice Church in Paris where she often attended Mass. From their secret signs they identified one another as fellow Martinists, followers of the craft. They became fast friends and Emma invited him to one of her famous soirees. After that, they kept up a correspondence and Sauniere taught her about the Templar and Cathar history of the Languedoc. Emma emphasized to Castillon that Sauniere was a man with a SECRET, a fact which she repeated to him during the visit.

Martinism was a popular occult philosophy of the day originally devised by Martinez de Pasqually, a Portuguese Jew. It was very Gnostic and "New Age" in doctrine and used illustrations of Cabbalistic diagrams similar to those used by the Rosicrucians. Their modern form of Martinism was overseen by the Tarot writer Papas, who was a Spaniard residing in France. Saenz de Castillon and Emma Calve were also Spanish by blood and by residence in Spain during their formative years. Emma was fluent in the local languages including the Occitan language spoken at Rennes-le-Chateau by the villagers.

While Marie Denarnaud went to make fresh lemonade, Castillon took a look around Sauniere`s private rooms (and was later reprimanded for it by Marie). He saw the priest's library and listed the books therein which included a Surveyor's Manual. On the wall were the prints that Sauniere had obtained when he visited the Louvre in Paris - the Tenier print of St. Anthony and the portrait of Pope Celestine V. The copy of Poussin's "The Shepherds of Arcadia II" was not a print but an oil painting, a good copy done at the museum that would have commanded a considerable sum. In the adjoining room which contained many boxes, were a surveyor's theodolite and distance measuring staffs as well as laboratory equipment (for assaying minerals?), a hunting rifle and bandolier, fishing rods, and bundles of books. Perhaps the theodolite and the distance measuring rods were used by Sauniere when he carefully buried the wine bottles that contained his messages to future seekers. These were the bottles discovered by Ben Hammott using the clues contained within the décor of the Rennes-le-Chateau church such as the pointing angels at the entrance.

Marie took them on a tour of the newly refurbished church and told them that Sauniere had drawn the designs for the plaques himself and had sent them back to the artisan until they were done exactly to his specifications. We get quite an impression of Marie's personality from the dialogue that Castillon records. He was both a reporter and a novelist, indeed, that is how he met La Diva. He had written a glowing review of an early operatic performance of hers in Paris. Castillon was impressed by the church's opulent décor; this was in 1900 before the construction of the Villa Bethania or the Tower Magdala.

After their walk around the grounds, Emma was tired and retired to the parlor to rest and compose a letter to Sauniere. While she was resting, Castillon wandered outside and met two curious villagers who repeated to him the local rumors and accusations against the priest and his housekeeper Marie concerning their treasure-hunting activities. They were said to have used ghostly messages from departed Templars to locate hidden wealth around the property. One of the men complained that his companion was due some of that wealth since it was he who had discovered the original parchment (probably the vial in the balustrade) which led the priest to discover what he was looking for. That discovery led to Sauniere`s mysterious riches. The men also joked about the priest's "magic umbrella" that he used to hunt for gold. As they became more aggressive, Castillon bought them drinks and bid them adieu.

The journey of Emma Calve and Saenz de Castillon up the mountain was rigorous and had to be made by hired cart at great expense. Sauniere later had a new road constructed which was a very expensive project to complete; it used a different route up the mountain. Castillon and La Diva returned to Limoux in her touring car after descending the steep and rutted track by horse cart.

This account of the visit to Rennes-le-Chateau begins with a party at Emma's home, Castle Cabrieres. Castillon relates the Templar history of the castle and tells of a letter to Emma from Sauniere about the treasure once held there and how it disappeared en route to a new location during the persecution of the Templar Knights.

The Diary of Saenz de Castillon is a true treasure from the past. His quotations of witty comments by Emma Calve are especially delightful. There is a lot more to the diary than just their trip up to visit Rennes-le-Chateau, but this is what is of most interest to Da Vinci Code scholars. Castillon's writing style is a pleasure to read and is much more informative than the brief summary outlined here. Castillondiary.blogspot.com