TODAY I’LL SHOW YOU…A MYSTERY TOUR
Speaking about Rome, and the things you need to know before visiting this this beautiful city, I can suggest you an exciting and unique tour.
I do not know if you are familiar with the 2009 film Angels & Demons. A thriller directed by Ron Howard, based on Dan Brown‘s novel of the same title. There is no requirement for having it read it or being a fan of Brown’s (although it may help!). If you haven’t heard about it before I suggest you take a look at the plot of the book/film.
However, for those who already know about it, but also for those who don’t; I created a short tour based on this film. The tour shows you many spares and places around the city. Let me introduce you to The Angels And Demons Tour, Best Of Rome.
You can admire the best scenarios that the city has to offer. It’s a memorable way to explore the city’s lovely squares, fountains and churches. This walk takes you to the main location described in the book of Dan Brown, Angels and Demons, linked to many spots where you can see the sculptures of Bernini and the main monuments of Rome.
Each stop on our tour is listed below.
Sights you’ll see include the Church of Santa Maria del Popolo, St Peter’s Square, the Church of Santa Maria della Vittoria and Ecstasy of St Teresa, Piazza Navona and the Church of Illumination.
The Angels And Demons Tour, Best Of Rome.
Firstly, choose freely among the numerous Hotels or Bed&Breakfast of the city. I can suggest you a lovely place, quiet and cheap just a stone’s throw away from the Vatican Museums. B&B Le Sibille, and All’ombra di San Pietro. Both are run by two lovely women. You can take a look here. https://www.bed-and-breakfast.it/en/latium/bb-le-sibille-roma/50406 and http://www.bbombradisanpietro.it/
Secondly, this tour can be done in one or two days. It depends on how much time you like to spend on each site. Of course, you must enjoy the view, not only run from point A to point B. So, select what might be more suitable for you, prepare to have fun and do not forget to share it with your friends.
Route detail
- Start: Piazza del Popolo, 00187 Roma
- End: St. Peters’ square, Vatican City
- Vatican City • Rome • Lazio • Italy
1. Santa Maria del Popolo
Langdon deduces that the first step – earth – leads north, to the Piazza del Popolo. Awesome movie location!
Part of Dan Brown”s book Angels and Demons takes place in the Chigi Chapel, where the sculpture of Habakkuk and the Angel is one of the four “markers” leading to an ancient lair in the Castel Sant”Angelo.
2. Pantheon
While there’s not much in the way of artificial light inside the Pantheon, you’ll notice the giant hole in the centre of the dome. It’s the Oculus, however, that throws the “Angels & Demons” detectives for a loop at the start of the book, when they mistakenly assume it’s what is meant by the “demon hole” in the first riddle. Robert and Vittoria visited Raphael Santi’s grave here and you can do that too!
3. St. Peter’s Square
On Saint Peter’s Square, you can see the “West Ponente”, a symbol used in the book “Angels and Demons” of Dan Brown. It represents wind, one of the four primordial elements.
The enormous piazza in front of St. Peter’s Basilica is, appropriately, called St. Peter’s Square – but rather than feeling like a traditional piazza it feels more like two arms embracing you to pull you toward the church itself.
St. Peter’s Square was designed by Bernini in the mid 17th-century. At the piazza’s center is an Egyptian obelisk from the 13th-century B.C.E. It’s at the base of the obelisk where you’ll find the “West Ponente” tile, one of the points referenced in the “Angels and Demons” book.
4. Santa Maria Della Vittoria
Santa Maria Della Vittoria is another church in Rome that can get overlooked, despite what’s inside. It was built in the early 17th century, and it’s a very small church by Roman standards but contains one of the more famous sculptures in the “Angels & Demons” story.
Bernini’s “Ecstasy of St. Teresa” graces the Cornaro Chapel in the Santa Maria Della Vittoria church, just to the left of the altar. The statue pictures Teresa of Ávila and represents the moment when, as St. Teresa says in her biography, she had a vision of an angel piercing her heart – but decades of onlookers have seen this masterpiece as much a work of erotica as religious transformation.
5. Piazza Navona
Walking through Rome, you’ll pass through countless piazzas – but when you first walk into Piazza Navona, you’ll immediately notice that it’s different. Instead of being a square or even angular, this piazza is a long oval.
Back in the 1st century A.D is was an arena. Now the arena is long since gone, but its shape remains – and at its center is one of Rome’s many famous fountains.
The Fountain of the Four Rivers is a Bernini sculptural work with an Egyptian obelisk in the middle. It’s this fountain which figures so prominently in the “Angels and Demons” story when the fourth Preferiti was chained and left to drown at the bottom of a large fountain. It represents one of the four primordial elements of the Illuminati: water.
6. Sant’Agnese in Agone
The Fountain of the Four Rivers in Piazza Navona stands right in front of the entrance of Sant’Agnese in Agone. The church was built in the mid-17th century and the facade was completed by Baroque master Borromini – who happened to be a bitter rival of Bernini, who designed the fountain at the church’s door. While a popular story says that Bernini designed the figures on the fountain to display a look of horror as they looked upon Borromini’s façade.
7. Castel Sant’Angelo
The imposing structure of Castel Sant’Angelo overlooking the Tiber River might look haunting even if you hadn’t read “Angels & Demons,” but it’ll undoubtedly be more so if you have. Originally built in the mid-2nd century as a mausoleum for the Roman emperor Hadrian and his wife, Castel Sant’Angelo has also served as a stronghold and a castle in its long history. At present, it’s a museum.
In “Angels & Demons,” the building figures prominently – especially the secret elevated “Passetto di Borgo” which actually does lead from the Castel Sant’Angelo to Vatican City. Historically, it has served to spirit Popes to safety at times when the Vatican was under attack.
Castel Sant’ Angelo plays a major role in the book and movie “Angels and Demons” of Dan Brown. The main character Langdon gets to the Castel Sant” Angelo, that hides an underground tunnel.
8. The Tiber Island
The Tiber Island is the location of
one of the miraculous scenes in the book Angels and Demons of Dan Brown.
Langdon managed to survive the explosion by using a window cover from the
chopper as a parachute, and landed in the Tiber River near Tiber Island, which
is famous for its reputation as an island blessed with miracles of healing.
9. San Francesco a Ripa
In the church San Francesco a Ripa, you can see the monument to the Beata (or Blessed) Ludovica Albertoni. It is a sculpture group by the baroque artist Gian Lorenzo Bernini.
10. St. Peter’s Basilica
The St. Peter’s Basilica plays a central role in the movie and book “Angel and Demons” of Dan Brown.
This massive basilica is, after all, the largest church in Christendom, one of the holiest sites in Christianity, and the place where the Pope performs mass on a pretty regular basis. I’d say that gives its “mothership” qualifications.
The tomb of St. Peter himself, the first Pope, is said to be below the main altar at St. Peter’s Basilica and many subsequent Popes are also buried beneath the church. Although it is St. Peter’s tomb that figures so prominently in “Angels and Demons,” that’s one place you’ll need quite a bit of advance planning to visit – secret Scavi tours of the excavated tombs under St. Peter’s Basilica exist, but only 150 people are admitted each day.
11. Sistine Chapel
The Sistine Chapel serves other purposes than just being pretty for visitors to look at. It’s only one of the chapels in the official Papal residence, but it’s been used as the space for the selection of a new Pope since 1492.
The most famous things about the Sistine Chapel are easily the collection of frescoes by Michelangelo – from his many-paneled ceiling to the massive Last Judgment behind the altar. The ceiling alone took him four years. While the election of a new Pope – called a Papal conclave – is strictly off-limits to anyone who’s not a voting Cardinal, in “Angels & Demons” two of the main characters storm the party to try to avert disaster.
It’s at the very end of the tour, and you’ll sometimes see people rushing through the gargantuan museum just to get to the chapel itself but give yourself enough time to see and enjoy the rest of it before alighting in the famous chapel.
- 1 .Rome Angels and Demons Half-Day Tour (12h)
- From €54.00
- Low Price Guarantee
- This walking tour is limited to 25 people.
- Check Availability
- 2. Rome Angels and Demons one Day Tour (24h)
- From €78.00
- Low Price Guarantee
- Check Availability Small group tour (maximum of 25 people)
- 3. Rome Angels and Demons 2-Day Tour (48h)
- From €99.00
- Low Price Guarantee
- Check Availability Small group tour (maximum of 25 people)
Languages Offered: English, Italian and French
What to Expect
Following your guide, who is knowledgeable about both Roman history and the details of the novel, walk along Rome’s hallowed streets. Stop to discover sights like a hidden passageway! Hunt for secrets left around the city by Bernini and Galileo, the two heads of the Illuminati. Visit locations mentioned in the book and hear about the four elements of water, air, fire and earth.
Know before you go
• The tour ends at St. Peter’s Square.
• It is the individual responsibility of all visitors to be on time.
• Entrance into some churches may require a dress code.
• This tour involves a fair amount of walking. Comfortable shoes are
recommended
• Extra measures may also restrict the size of bags that can be brought inside the sites.
I am the first person to admit that life in Italy is not always a bed of roses. Or rather, it is a bed of roses, but someone neglected to remove the thorns. But it is a city that you must visit Before you Die.
Questions?
Get in touch with an e-mail or simply leave a comment.
THANK YOU!
I'LL SHOW YOU... A NEW PLACE 