A Guided Tour Through Rome With Angels and Demons Pointing the Way

Piazza San Pietro or St. Peter's Square, Vatican City, Rome

If this is your first visit to Rome, Italy, and you’re not sure where to start, where to go or what to do, then seek out the "Path of Illumination," pun intended, on one of the most popular tours in Rome – “Angels and Demons Tour.”  Direct from Dan Brown’s highly acclaimed bestseller “Angels and Demons,” this tour introduces Rome’s most famous landmarks as you follow in the footsteps of Brown’s fictional character Robert Langdon as he sets out to rescue the cardinals and save the Vatican from impending doom.  Not only is this a great way to familiarize yourself with the lay of the land, it’s quite the fun-filled adventure through the eternal city, whether you’ve read the book or not! Your guide? Well, angels and demons of course – okay, sort of.

Piazza del Popolo

You’ll actually meet up with your human guide at Piazza del Popolo on the eastern side of the Tiber River. From here, you'll embark on the “Path of Illumination” beginning at the church of Santa Maria del Popolo, the first altar of science representing earth, if you remember the book. Then, it’s on to the Pantheon, the remaining altars of science: air, fire and water or respectively – St. Peter’s Basilica, Santa Maria della Vittoria and St. Agnes in Agony (across from the Fountain of the Four Rivers in Piazza Navona), and finally, Castel Sant’Angelo where Robert saves Vittoria to live happily ever after and where the tour concludes.

Before we proceed any further, let’s revisit the story. If you remember, Robert and Vittoria were heading to the Pantheon – the 2000-year-old church designed originally by Agrippa in 27 BC – after incorrectly deciphering the clues to save the first kidnapped cardinal. After they had realized their mistake, they raced off to Santa Maria del Popolo in search of a “demon hole” in hopes of saving him. This is where your tour begins despite the slight deviation in sequence of locations from the story. Don’t worry, the Pantheon will come next.

Pantheon 

Once inside Santa Maria del Popolo, we were led to the Raphael’s Chigi Chapel to seek out the demon hole or ossuary annex in the floor where Langdon later discovered the body of the first cardinal.  After a tour of the rest of the church, we followed the “Path” to our next location, thanks to the gesturing angel in Bernini's Habakkuk and the Angel sculpture. He points west.

Demon Hole or Ossuary Annex inside the Chigi Chapel in Santa Maria del Popolo

Our next stop?  St. Peter’s Basilica of course, the 2^nd altar of science, to find the air angel in the Piazza San Pietro or St. Peter's Square.  Our guide led us to the middle of the square where at the base of an Egyptian obelisk, we discovered the bas-relief of an angel blowing air to the east.  As you know, this is where the second cardinal met his end in the story.

Bas-relief image of angel blowing to east.  Located in St. Peter's Square

With two cardinals dead now, we couldn’t help but feel the urgency and panic that must have coursed through Robert’s and Vittoria’s veins as they, and we, tried to determine the location of the next altar of science.  Looking down at the air angel, we followed the direction of the “wind” which led us to the east – to Santa Maria della Vittoria where, despite our heroic attempts, the third cardinal met his doom in a blaze of fire.  Once here, take your time if you can to wander about this chapel, originally dedicated to St. Paul and known as San Paulo in 1626.  Later, it was rededicated to the Virgin Mary and renamed Santa Maria della Vittoria.

Ecstasy of St. Teresa inside Santa Maria della Vittoria

Upon entering, our guide regaled us with Langdon's adventure and then directed our attention to one of the most provocative and exquisite Bernini sculptures I’ve ever seen – the Ecstasy of St. Teresa. Get up close and you’ll see how Bernini achieved unbelievably realistic detail of St. Teresa expressing sheer ecstasy for her love of God. It’s remarkable not to mention unforgettable!  Nearby, stands an angel pointing his spear of fire in the direction of our final altar of science – water.

Bernini's "Fountain of the Four Rivers in Piazza Navona

From here, it’s off to Piazza Navona to find water and the place where the 4th cardinal met his doom in Bernini's Fountain of the Four Rivers located in the middle of the piazza. Representing the four great rivers of the four continents at the time, Bernini’s fountain shows Triton surrounded by the Nile in Africa, the Ganges in Asia, the Danube in Europe and finally the Rio de la Plata in America. By the way, this famous piazza is a "must see" on your Roman itinerary because it was the site of ancient Roman chariot races and today, it is surrounded by tempting cafés along its perimeter. Don’t be fooled into having a meal here though because these places offer mediocre food at very high prices.  However, I do recommend that you grab an espresso and people watch for a spell.

Castel Sant'Angelo

At this point in the story, the four cardinals are dead and Langdon must now rescue his heroine, Vittoria, who was kidnapped and taken to the Castel Sant'Angelo. Originally designed as a tomb for Emperor Hadrian, this colossal edifice was built in AD 135-139, converted into a fortress in 401, and finally into the castle we see today during the 14^th century.  Because it was home to many a pope, an access route was needed to safely transport the popes between Castel Sant’Angelo and the Vatican.  This “connection" is the Il Passeto which provided an escape route during times of war and if you remember the book, the cardinals were kidnapped and lead out of the Sistine Chapel via Il Passeto to Castel Sant’Angelo.   Unfortunately today, it is not accessible to the public but what a great end to the tour it would have been.

Finally, we arrived at the entrance of Castel Sant’Angelo where we walked around the curving ramps inside the castle to the top for a most stunning view of the Tiber River and of surrounding Rome.  However, this is where the story and our tour comes to an end. Robert rescued Vittoria, saved the Vatican from destruction, and our tour guide rescued us with an espresso and pastry at a nearby café.  A most fitting end, don’t you think?

View from atop Castel Sant'Angelo

Whether you’re traveling to Rome for the first time or the fiftieth, the Angels and Demons Tour provides a great introduction to the Eternal City. If you want to find out more about the journey along the "Path of Illumination," visit AngelsandDemons.it.  Prices per person for GROUP tours is 56 Euro and for private tours, 329 Euro for first two people.  I strongly recommend either tour to everyone during their Roman holiday.  Arrivederci!