The ever-controversial Dan Brown has fuelled more debate and contention with the publication of his recent novel Angels and Demons, which was quickly followed by a film adaptation. The novel has led to an upsurge in many different Angels and Demons tours in Rome. It can be difficult to decide which guided tour to go for with such a surfeit of options on offer. For a relatively thorough overview of many of the places described in the novel, a four-hour Globe Trips Angels and Demons tour in Rome seems the best choice. So for a Rome walking tour that offers something a bit different and unique, take an Angels and Demons tour.

Begin at St Peter’s Square, which plays a significant role in Angels and Demons, as in the novel Langdon races through it to try to avert a murder. The history of St Peter’s Square itself is intriguing. Pope Alexander II commissioned the sculptor Bernini to create this immense and astounding square in 1655. St Peter’s Square is bordered by colonnades which in themselves carry a pious message – they are meant to symbolise the arms of the church embracing the world. And this magnificent square provides access to the elegant St Peter’s Basilica, where you can take the opportunity for a photo.

Your guided tour continues with a visit to the churches of both St. Maria del Popolo and St. Maria della Vittoria. These atmospheric churches have a charm all their own, an imposing majesty that cannot be ignored. In Angels and Demons, Langdon goes into the crypt beneath the Chigi Chapel, part of St Maria del Popolo. The Chigi Chapel (like St. Peter’s Square, completed by Bernini) memorializes a famous (and notoriously extravagant) financier during the Renaissance.

St. Maria della Vittoria church has a charm that is all its own. St Maria della Vittoria is strikingly baroque in style, and is most renowned for its Cornaro Chapel. It is here that Bernini’s ‘ecstasy of St Theresa’ is housed, a sculpture mentioned in Angels and Demons, and a sculpture that has been hotly debated by art critics over the centuries: is it a work that depicts a religious epiphany or is it a piece of erotica? Decide for yourself as you continue on your Rome walking tour.

The Pantheon is a sight to behold. Built in 125 AD, it is the only piece of ancient Roman architecture that stands fully intact, in all its original splendour. The hole in the centre of this magnificent structure is called the ‘oculus’. The ‘oculus’ was, in fact, a way for smoke to escape from the ceremonial fires that took place on the floor of this temple to the Roman gods. In Angels and Demons, Langdon rushes to the Pantheon, when he mistakenly believes it is the ‘demon hole’ of the riddle he is attempting to decipher.

The intriguing Fountain of the Four Rivers, with its mystifying Egyptian obelisk in the centre, is a part of the elegant Piazza Navona, and prominent in Angels and Demons. As such, the Piazza Navona is an integral aspect of your Rome walking tour.

The towering and monumental Castel Sant'Angelo is where a key event in Angels and Demons occurs. The structure has had a varied and intriguing past – it was originally a mausoleum for Hadrian and his wife, before becoming a stronghold and a castle as time progressed. As it was originally a mausoleum, this may account for the rather haunting aura it emits to this day, despite its conversion into a museum.

Conclusion: Book an Angels and Demons tour in Rome with Globe Trips, for a truly special Rome walking tour – a guided tour, with an expert who will be able to answer all your queries and satiate your curiosity as to certain controversial claims Dan Brown has made in Angels and Demons. Learn the fascinating history of the key monuments and world-famous places touched on in the novel. Most of all, come away amazed by the sheer bewildering history of Rome, which can never be covered in one novel.