Carlo Ventresca

Carlo Ventresca is a character from Dan Browns novel Angels and Demons. Carlo is the recently dead popes camerlengo (the administrator of the property and revenues in the Holy See, Vatican city). He was raised in strict catholic manners by a single mom in Italy and his fathers name is never revealed to him during his childhood. 


In the novel he is playing a dual role; on one side he is the young camerlengo of the dead pope and on the other hand he is "Janus" the false Illuminati leader. 


The young camerlengo finds out that the scientist and priest Mr. Vetra at CERN, a European Laboratory for Particle Physics, has discovered an antimaterial which might describe Gods existence. He reported back to the pope who was really exited about the scientific discovery. The pope then told Carlo about that science had made it possible for him to raise a child, without breaking his allegiance to God. Carlo was horrified about the popes untold past and poisoned him. 


The Vatican is now to choose a new leader and Carlo wants to be the popes successor. To be able getting this position he hires a assassin to kidnap and murder "gli quattro preferiti", the four cardinals most likely to succeed the pope.   

The murders are committed in the name of Illuminati, an anti-Christian group of academics, and they should as said help the camerlengo to be elected as the new pope. He also kills Mr. Vetra and steals his antimaterial to place it somewhere within the Vatican City. (The antimaterial has the ability to blow up like a small atom bomb.)


As the story goes on and the Swiss Guard are hunting for "gli quattro preferiti" and the antimaterial, Carlo does anything to hide his dangerous plans. The CERN director anyway reveals his plans and confronts him when they are alone together. The camerlengo therefor got his guards to kill the CERN director. 


In the end of Dan Browns novel, Carlo plays hero and in front of a crowded st. Peter's Square he rides towards the sky with the antimaterial. Seconds before it blows up he jumps out in a parachute and lands close to the cheering crowd. To them he is a hero, but Professor Robert Langdon knows the truth and reveals it to the Vatican. Carlo then got to know that his mother and father, which both now were dead, was a nun and a monk who so dearly wanted a child together. The only way to both get their dream come true and not break their allegiance to God was to get help from science and have a assisted reproduction. His father was not a regular monk, he actually become pope and had therefor chose a such young man as Carlo to be his camerlengo. 


Carlo became crushed when he found out that his plan had been revealed and he had failed his mission, nevertheless he had also killed his own father. 


As a result of this Carlo commits suicide by lit himself on fire. The cardinals decided to elect him to be the next pope so he could be buried next to his father. Carlo was pope for approximatively 17 minutes.