Santa Maria della Vittoria – Fire

Brown took liberties with the location of this small church placing it in the Piazza Barberini when it is actually on Via XX Settembre near the Piazza della Republicca. The Cornaro chapel is the site of Bernini’s Ecstasy of Saint Teresa sculpture, depicting the moment an angel’s “great golden spear” with a “point of fire” penetrated Saint Teresa’s heart. The sculpture’s spear sends Langdon south west.

Fountain of the Four Rivers – Water

The Fontana delle Quattro Fiumi is in the centre of Piazza Navona, and represents the Danube, the River Plate, the Ganges and the Nile. The fountain’s patron, Pope Innocent X, had his family crest, a dove, feature repeatedly within the sculture. The dove that sits on top of the central obelisk faces north west towards the Illuminati lair.

Angels, Demons and hype

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Castel Sant'Angelo is a haunting, vast, cylindrical building overlooking the Tiber. Now a museum, it was commissioned by Emperor Hadrian as a mausoleum for his family. It was used as the location for the secret lair of the Hassassin (the hired killer) and the last existing of the Illuminati.

Passetto di Borgo is an 800 metre long secret passageway disguised as an aqueduct linking the Castel Sant'Angelo to the Vatican and historically has been used as an escape route for Popes in danger, rather than for the abduction of cardinals as shown in the film.

Palace of the Vatican and Sistine Chapel - Michelangelo's Sistine Chapel is the most famous of the sites as well as being the most crucial to the story, as the cardinals are locked in the chapel for the papal conclave to elect a new pope. The chapel itself is spectacular but it is worth pausing to admire the many other quality frescoes en route, as it is situated at the end of the lengthy Vatican Museum tour.

As with all the sites you will be seeing the real thing, but in the Vatican literally so, unlike on the big screen; the Catholic Church refused permission for filming as they believe Dan Brown and his books to be deliberately defamatory of the church!

Watch an Angels & Demons video tour.

Where to stay: Hotel chains are also hoping to cash in on the film. Rome's Hotel d’Inghilterra, is offering a three-night Angels & Demons package priced from €220 per person per night. The price includes a private tour of the city with the hotel’s English-speaking symbologist, breakfast, a gourmet gift on arrival and entrance to the Castel Sant’Angelo museum, plus a room upgrade subject to availability.

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