Angels & Demons: the Insider's Guide
Synopsis:
A free e-book from Roaring Forties Press!
Angels & Demons has blockbuster written into every page; no wonder it was made into a hit movie! Part of the appeal lies in the setting. As Langdon and Vittoria dash around Rome, they face a fictional villain in real places. The College of Cardinals convenes to select a new pope in the most famous room in Rome: the Sistine Chapel. Tourists posing for photos in Piazza Navona may recall the battle 
between Langdon and the Hassassin in the Fountain of the Four Rivers. Langdon and Vittoria take their first wrong turn at the Pantheon. Brown skillfully weaves together the familiar and the mysterious into a thriller that transcends the centuries.
Rome’s Angels & Demons: The Insider’s Guide to Locations Featured in the Book and Movie embraces the mixture of fact and fiction that Brown delivers. Slipping between the world of conspiracies and the solidity of a travel guide, Rome’s Angels & Demons: The Insider’s Guide offers travelers a new perspective on the city. Biographical information about the book’s key historical figures—Raphael, Galileo, and Bernini—places them in a historical context, while practical tips afford the traveler an insider’s guide to the Eternal City and maps and photographs help readers see Rome the way Langdon and Vittoria did. Used as an itinerary or as a companion to the novel, Rome’s Angels & Demons: The Insider’s Guide takes the reader into a world of intrigue and collusion.
Book Excerpt:
From Santi’s earthly tomb with demon’s hole…
Langdon chuckled to himself. He was amazed how few people knew Santi, the last name of one of the most famous Renaissance artists ever to live…
“Santi,” Langdon said, “is the last name of the great Renaissance master, Raphael.” (Angels & Demons, Chapter 55)
Raphaello Sanzio (1483–1520), the son of a painter, grew up in Urbino. As Langdon notes, he is also known as “Raphael Santi.” Raphael came to Rome to perfect his craft as an artist; he studied under his cousin, Bramante, and took over as architect of St. Peter’s Basilica after Bramante’s death.
Raphael was known as a lovable and affable fellow with a penchant for the ladies. Indeed, on more than one occasion, his lust for women interfered with his work. Agostino Chigi was one of Raphael’s patrons, and he, too, shared Raphael’s amorous tendencies. When Chigi employed Raphael to create frescoes in his summer home, Villa Farnesina, Chigi provided the artist with living quarters at the villa because it was so close to the home of Raphael’s lover. In fact, the story goes, one day Raphael and his beloved were enjoying each others’ company when Michelangelo stopped by. The two were so engrossed in their passion that they did not notice Michelangelo, who picked up a brush and completed a figure in the fresco before leaving. Chigi also com-missioned Raphael’s work on the Chigi Chapel at Santa Maria del Popolo—the First Altar of Science on the Path of Illumination.
Raphael’s biographer, Vasari, attributes the artist’s death to a night of lovemaking that was “even more immoderate than usual.” He says that when Raphael returned home that night with a fever, the doctors misdiagnosed the cause, and they prescribed the wrong treatment, which killed him. Raphael had expressed his desire to be buried in the Pantheon (a first for an artist), and the grieving city of Rome honored that request. Langdon and Vittoria begin their quest for the Path of Illumination at the Pantheon. Rather, they attempt to begin.
Where to Find Raphael in Rome
- The Vatican Museums: Raphael is best known for a series of frescoes—the Raphael Stanze—he painted in the papal apartments between 1508 and 1511. He also designed a series of tapestries that run the circumference of the Sistine Chapel. The tapestries were stolen during the Sack of Rome in 1527 and were not returned until 1550.
- Villa Farnesina: The palazzo where the artist was caught canoodling with his lover is now open to the public.
- Palazzo Barberini: Here visitors can glimpse Raphael’s La Fornarina. The elegant nude in the painting is the daughter of the neighborhood baker—and Raphael’s lover. She wears an armband upon which is written “Raphael Urbinas.”
Author Comment:
I am really excited about Angels & Demons: the Insider's Guide! I hope you will download a copy to enjoy for yourself. And spread the word! Ciao! AKN
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Original Publish Date:
May 15, 2009
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