Hollywood leading men Tom Hanks and Ewan McGregor may find themselves upstaged by the Italian capital’s galore of gorgeous sights and attractions in the upcoming blockbuster Angels & Demons.

By EVELYN MAK
Photography: SONY PICTURES

A pope dies and an election is scheduled to choose his successor. But the four candidates are kidnapped by the Illuminati, a secret society of ‘Enlightened Ones’ against the Vatican.

Harvard symbiologist Professor Robert Langdon gets tasked with the mission to thwart the Illuminati’s plan. The only way to do so is to decipher a mysterious code, which are connected to the ancient symbols of earth, fire, wind and water. Together with enigmatic scientist Vittoria Vetra, he braves sealed crypts, dangerous catacombs, deserted cathedrals and the most secretive vault on Earth, in order to protect the Vatican from chaos and destruction.

A best-selling novel by Dan Brown, Angels & Demons was written before The Da Vinci Code (which became a big-screen smash in 2006). The fi lm marks another collaboration between director Ron Howard and actor Tom Hanks, who reprises his role as Robert Langdon. Rounding up the cast are Ewan McGregor, Ayelet Aurer and Stellan Sarksgård.

Caught on film

Although the script required scenes to be shot at The Vatican and other churches in Rome, the crew was banned from entering religious sites. Replicas of St Peter’s Basilica and the interiors of churches like the Pantheon and Santa Maria del Popolo therefore had to be built or digitally added in during production.

Otherwise, the city provided a lively and colourful backdrop for the movie. For one, the production team had to brace themselves to deal with accidental extras; much filming took place at tourist attractions such as Piazza Navona, Castel Sant’Angelo and Biblioteca Angelica, all of which were thronging with visitors due to the summer holidays.

Holy, holy, holiday

Like how The Da Vinci Code helped boost tourist arrivals to France, Angels & Demons looks likely to bring in a new wave of visitors to Rome, especially fans who want to retrace Robert Langdon’s steps to solve the mystery.

An offi cial movie tour is already available to bring you to various filming sites, with tickets at €56 (adults) and €51 (children aged four to 14). It lasts four hours and runs on Tuesday, Friday, Saturday and Sunday. For more details, log on to www.angelsanddemons.it or e-mail: info@angelsanddemons.it.

Here, a sneak peek at the sights:

The Pantheon

A must-go for tourists, this ancient temple was filled with statues of Roman deities and served as a venue for animal sacrifices until the country converted to Christianity. It then became a church dedicated to the Virgin Mary and all martyrs, known as Church of St Mary and the Martyrs. The Pantheon remains an active church and is open daily.

The building contains niches and chapels dedicated to saints like St Michael the Archangel, St Thomas the Apostle and St Joseph, and houses religious sculptures and paintings by artists like Giuseppi Sacconi and Bernadino Cametti. It is also the final resting place of the artist Raphael.

Castel Sant’Angelo

Originally built as a mausoleum for Emperor Hadrian 139 AD – it still houses urns with remains of the Emperor, his family and successors until 217 AD – the building has also served as a fortress, refuge, prison and museum throughout history.

Piazza Navona

Built upon the ruins of Circus Domitianus, which boasted a bigger arena than the Colosseum, Piazza Navona is one of Rome’s most beautiful public squares. The best spot here is La Fontana dei Fiumi, or ‘Fountain of the Four Rivers’. Located in the centre of the square, the fountain represents four major rivers in the four continents – the Nile (Africa), the Ganges (Asia), the Danube (Europe) and the Rio della Plata (Americas), each represented by a river god bowing semi-prostrate to an Egyptian obelisk in the centre of the fountain.

Piazza del Popolo

Explore the chic cafés, boutiques and restaurants scattered along the cobblestoned Piazza del Popolo. Located at the foot of Pincio Park, the square has existed since before the Middle Ages, despite its early 1800sstyle architecture (thanks to architect Giuseppe Valadier).

Visit the twin churches of Santa Maria dei Miracoli and Santa Maria di Montesanto, as well as the magnifi cent Santa Maria del Popolo, which houses works by Roman artists Annibale Caracci, Michelangelo Caravaggio, Raphael Santi and Gianlorenzo Bernini.

Piazza della Rotonda

Known popularly as ‘The Square of the Pantheon’ because it borders on the ancient Pantheon, Piazza della Rotonda is considered the heart of historical Rome. An excellent spot to people-watch as you sip on an espresso at an open-air café, it is especially breathtaking in the evening when the Pantheon is lit up.

Biblioteca Angelica

Named after Augustinian Bishop Angelo Rocca, who took care of the Vatican printing houses, this conventturned-state library boasts over 200,000 volumes of works. These include books from the 15th century, Latin and Oriental manuscripts, rare copies of works by Dante and Petrarch. Also kept here is De Oratore, the first book printed in Italy in 1456.

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