Do-it-yourself Angels and Demons Tour – visit all the sites from the blockbuster movie on your own self-guided tour of Rome.

The success of the movie Angels and Demons, based on the novel by Dan Brown, has had a major impact on sightseeing in Rome. Companies are now advertising tours to many, but not all, of the sights seen in the movie.

Here is a “do-it-yourself” Angels and Demons tour where you can visit all of the sights in Rome as outlined in the movie. In order to accomplish this you will require some advanced planning. This could be as much as 3 months for reservations to the Vatican Museum and the Necropolis and at least two days to complete the visits.

It is highly unlikely that you will be able to fit a tour of the Vatican Museum and Necropolis into one day. Therefore it is better to visit Vatican City on two separate days as outlined below.

The order in which you visit the sights is not the same as that outlined in the Dan Brown’s book but it is more efficient and less time consuming.

You will get more out of your own walk along “the Path of Illumination” if you see the movie or read the book again. Alternatively you can review this brief synopsis of the story.

Day 1: Vatican City – take Metro Linea A to Ottaviano Station and walk to Vatican City.

1) St. Peter’s Square – look for the Egyptian obelisk and the circle of discs surrounding it. The disc labeled West Ponente was featured in the movie.

2) St. Peter’s Basilica

3) The Vatican Museum including the Sistine Chapel.


If you have time remaining after your tour, visit sights 2 then 1 below.





Day 2: Old Rome and the Scavi Tour at the Vatican

1) The Church of Santa Maria della Vittoria (Metro Linea A – Repubblica Station). Look for the statue of St. Theresa in Ecstasy.

2) The Church of Santa Maria del Popolo and the Piazza del Popolo (Metro Linea A – Flamino Station). Look for the Egyptian obelisk in the center of the piazza and then proceed into the church. Here you will find the statue of the Prophet Habbakuk and the Angel. At time time of my visit, the statue was covered for renovation. As such it may not be visible at the time of your visit either. Also look for the skeleton cupermiento (like a manhole cover) leading to the “demon’s hole” and subterranean crypt.

3) Necropolis (Scavi) Tour – the excavations under St. Peter’s Basilica (Metro Linea A to Ottaviano Station and then walk to Vatican City). Consider yourself very lucky if you are on this tour. At the same time don’t be surprised when you discover that nothing here looks like it did in the movie. Furthermore the chase scene as filmed would not have been possible in the real scavi. If you are not able to tour the Scavi you can enjoy a virtual tour.

4) Castel Sant’Anglo and Il Passetto di Borgo – walk from Vatican City to Castel Sant’Angelo for a tour. Il Passetto di Borgo is the aquaduct-like structure connecting Vatican City to Castel Sant’Angelo. You can only see this secret papal escape passage from outside.

5) Piazza Navona – cross the Ponte Sant’Angelo (bridge) and walk to the Piazza Navona. Here you will find the Fountain of the Four Rivers and an Egyption Obelisk.

6) The Pantheon – walk from the Piazza Navona to the Pantheon.

Tips for Your Angels and Demons Tour

1) Before you plan your tour or do any bookings, read the Tips for Italy for information related Rome.

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