The term Consulate refers to “the place or building in which a consul’s duties are carried out” (Dictionary). A consul is “an official appointed by a government to live in a foreign city and protect and promote the government’s citizens and interests there” (Dictionary). In Inferno, Robert Langdon cannot remember why he is being targeted in Florence, therefore he calls the American consulate for help.
Mr. Collins is the “consulate general’s chief administrator” (Brown 53). His job as a consul is to protect American citizens in Italy and facilitate relationships between American citizens and Italian citizens. Ironically, Langdon and Sienna discover that Mr. Collins is not protecting Langdon, rather he is trying to kill him.
Pensione la Fiorentina is a small fictional hotel in Florence where Robert Langdon tells Mr. Collins that he is staying. Langdon does not stay at Pensione la Fiorentina, but uses it as a “mirrored location” (Brown 62). Langdon uses this “mirrored location”to “asses the situation before revealing his own location” (Brown 62).
The term MI6 refers to Military Intelligence, Section 6 andis commonly used to describe the Secret Intelligence Service of the United Kingdom.
According to the Merriam-Webster dictionary, a professor is “a teacher especially of the highest rank at a college or university”. Robert Langdon is an American professor of symbology at Harvard University.
A BMW motorcycle or “motorrad” is a German
motorcycle used for “long distance travel, navigating
congested urban traffic, cruising, sport and racing, and off-road conditions”. The US government sends a “sleek black BMW motorcycle” to Pensione la Fiorentina to find Robert Langdon.
Leather suits are used as protective clothing for motorcyclists. The leather used is not fashion leather; rather it is protective leather, which is stronger, tougher, and more flexible.
A Handgun is “a firearm designed to be handheld, in either one or both hands”. The two major handgun subtypes are revolvers and pistols.
Vayentha, the woman searching for Langdon at Pensione la Fiorentina, “produced a familiar handgun” (Brown 55).
According to the Merriam Webster dictionary, a Silencer is “a device that is attached to a handgun to reduce the noise that the gun makes when it is fired”.