The Illuminati
In 1776 the young Bavarian professor Adam Weishaupt (1748 - 1830) together with two of his students founded a group of freethinkers. They called themselves "perfectibilists". Later they were given the name "Illuminati Order", plural of Latin Illuminatus.
Symbols of the Illuminati
What has remained throughout modern times is the believing that the Age of Enlightenment that aspired toward more freedom for common people with reason as the primary source and legitimacy for authorities was a conspiracy to infiltrate and overthrow the governments of many European states.
Many of today's theories claim that historic events like the American Declaration of Independence, the United States Bill of Rights and the French Revolution were manipulated by the principles of a secret society calling itself the Illuminati.
The Illuminati are also believed to have their own symbols like Ambigrams, ovals, peculiar numbers and the All-Seeing-Eye above the pyramid symbol on the dollar bill.
The Illuminati in Rome
In Angels & Demons, Dan Brown weaves together fact and fiction. He claims -as some historicans do- that the Illuminati vowed vengeance against the Vatican in the 1600's. The early Illuminati - those of Galilei's day - were expelled from Rome by the Vatican (not Galilei himself) and hunted mercilessly. The Illuminati fled and went into hiding in Bavaria where they began mixing with other refugee groups fleeing the Catholic purges - mystics, alchemists, scientists and occultists.
This is why Rome has been linked to the Illuminati. In our incentive Angels and Demons tour, the ILLUMINATI EXPERIENCE DRIVE®, we hold on this theory, and participants must try to reach illumination to may join the Illuminati Order.
More about our tours here.
