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Mary Alice Bennett is an archaeological restoration artist who lives in the Sonoran desert near the border with Mexico. As an art history student, she has had a life-long fascination with Leonardo DaVinci and also with studying the ancient mysteries. Since her church has a long tradition about Jesus and Mary Magdalene, the Dan Brown book was not new information to her. "The DaVinci Code" aside, here are more clues in the work of Leonardo to ponder. Email Mary Alice Bennett.
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A Visit to Rennes-le-Chateau
with Emma Calve in May of 1900by Mary Alice Bennett 
Posted: 13:00 January 21, 2008
The Villa Bethania at Rennes-le-Chateau |
Rodrigo Saenz de Castillon traveled a long way from Paris by rail to attend a gathering of luminaries at La Diva's castle. Did she arrange her soiree in order to persuade Castillon to accompany her on a visit to Rennes-le-Chateau after the departure of her other guests? Some Da Vinci Code scholars question whether Beranger Sauniere and La Diva Emma Calve ever met, but thanks to the diary of Saenz de Castillon we now have proof of their close relationship. It is revealed here for January 17th, 2009 because January 17th is very important date in the history of Rennes-le-Chateau.
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.
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