Clement Wilson is editor of www.thebloggersguide.com. Ahead of the UK film release of Angels & Demons. This is his guide to Dan Brown's Rome

An interactive Google map of Dan Brown's Rome

The imminent release of Angels & Demons, the film of Dan Brown’s book, is sure to send tourists swarming to the ancient sites of Rome featured in the story, just as The Da Vinci Code did in Paris.

Tom Hanks is back as Robert Langdon, the heroic intellectual who runs around Rome’s fountains, crypts, secret passages, churches and catacombs whilst solving various riddles to prevent the Illuminati’s intended destruction of the Vatican and Catholic cardinals with stolen antimatter.

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There are numerous organised tours, including one that claims to be official (www.angelsanddemons.it). The advantage of these is the commentary by the guides that tie everything into to the plot, which is presumably appealing only to the most fervent fans, but the sites themselves are worth seeing for their own merits.

Here is a quick guide to the money shots:

The Path of Illumination

To solve the mystery Langdon attempts to follow this “path” to four landmarks associated with Earth, Air, Fire and Water. Inspired by Milton’s poetry - "Let angels guide you on your lofty quest" – he searches for works by Giovanni Lorenzo Bernini, a Baroque sculptor.

Santa Maria del Popolo – Earth

A church with notable works of art including Caravaggio’s Crucifixion of St. Peter and Conversion on the Way to Damascus; the Chigi Chapel is within the church and houses the Bernini sculpture, Habakkuk and the Angel. The angel points Langdon in the direction of the next point on the path.

St. Peter's Square – Air

Piazza San Pietro is the giant square, flanked by colossal colonnades in front of St Peter’s Basilica in the Vatican City. At the centre there is a 13th Century BC Egyptian Obelisk, brought to ancient Rome by Caligula. Bernini's West Ponente is a paving stone at the base of the obelisk and depicts an angel exhaling, blowing air eastwards.

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