The tour involves solving puzzles and enigmas and decoding secret messages hidden in ancient sculptures and texts. It is based on the popular Dan Brown novel Angels and Demons, which was turned into a film starring Tom Hanks.

A guide takes willing tourists to some of the most beautiful locations in Rome and some lesser known sites away from the tourist trail.

Those who sign up for the tour visit piazzas in Rome and unexplored sites where pagan symbolism and Christianity intermix to reveal and ancient truth.

Following the path of the “illuminati”, sites visited include Saint Peter’s Square, Santa Maria della Vittoria church, the Pantheon, Piazza della Minerva, Piazza Navona, Santa Maria del Popolo, Piazza del Popolo and Castel Sant’Angelo.

It also brings visitors to the statues and architectural designs by 17th-century sculptor Giovanni Lorenzo Bernini, including “Habakkuk and the Angel” to the Fountain of the Four Rivers in Piazza Navona.

Priced from $100 tourists will travel in a bus as well as walk, and tours operate four days a week. Private tours are also available.

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