Dan Brown Tourists: Next Stop, Rome?

June 24, 2008|Elisabetta Povoledo

ROME — As Tom Hanks, Ron Howard and the rest of the cast and crew of “Angels and Demons” wrap up filming, the Dan Brown effect is on many minds here.

Mr. Brown’s last book-turned-movie, “The Da Vinci Code,” spawned hordes of tourists, toting well-thumbed novels, traipsing around France, Scotland and elsewhere to unravel its mysteries. Now Romans are wondering if the film of “Angels and Demons,” based on the 2000 predecessor to “The Da Vinci Code,” will do the same for their city.

Some hope so. Patrizia Prestipino, head of Rome’s provincial department of tourism, said, “A film like this could relaunch American tourism,” which has dropped by 6 percent this year from the same period last year (largely because of the weak dollar). The story takes place in some of the most magnificent spots in Rome, including the Pantheon, Piazza Navona and Piazza del Popolo.

“For us it’s like free advertising,” Ms. Prestipino said. “I say the more films they produce in Rome, the better.” Other groups, like the Roman Catholic Church, which sees its authority as being undermined in both Brown best sellers, have been less receptive.

Requests to film on location in Santa Maria del Popolo and Santa Maria della Vittoria, churches that are homes to paintings by Caravaggio, sculptures by Bernini and a chapel designed by Raphael, were refused. They are also where cardinals are murdered and mutilated in two of the more gruesome scenes in “Angels and Demons.”

“We give authorizations to productions that are compatible with religious sentiment,” said the Rev. Marco Fibbi, a spokesman for the Rome diocese. “With Dan Brown’s books this problem exists.”

Last week the production moved to the Royal Palace in Caserta, just north of Naples, to shoot Vatican interiors. (The Caserta location has also doubled for intergalactic palaces in two of the “Star Wars” prequels.)

“No one ever gets permission to film inside the Vatican,” Father Fibbi explained. “They didn’t even make an exception for the mini-series on the life of Pope John Paul II.”

Like “The Da Vinci Code,” “Angels and Demons” stars Mr. Hanks as Robert Langdon, a Harvard professor of art history and religious symbology. This time he finds himself desperately trying to stop the Illuminati, a secret society hellbent on the destruction of the Vatican. (Antimatter plays a big role in their plot.)