Rome in Angels and Demons

When a place is chosen as a prominent film location, it’s often a boon to the local community. They welcome the financial injection to businesses, the employment opportunities for residents and are thrilled that their hometown’s charms are being shown to the world. Add to that the possibility of movie tourists and you’ve got yourself an interested and appreciative place. Not so with Angels and Demons.

It’s not surprising really. The core action of Angels and Demons, the prequel to 2006’s mega-hit The Da Vinci Code is based in Rome, with top religious sites such as the Vatican and the Sistine Chapel integral to the mysterious plot. These sites are off limits to productions sympathetic to the Catholic faith (“No one ever gets permission to film inside the Vatican,” explains Father Marco Fibbi, a spokesman for the Diocese of Rome. “They didn’t even make an exception for the mini-series on the life of Pope John Paul II.”), let alone ones considered controversial and offensive such as the bestselling novel by author Dan Brown.

“It would be unacceptable to transform churches into film sets so that his [Brown’s] blasphemous novels can be made into films in the name of business,” stated Archbishop Velasio De Paolis, the head of the Vatican’s prefecture for economic affairs. A decision that echoed many made regarding The Da Vinci Code, when director Ron Howard and his production crew were banned from filming in a number of religious sites including Westminster Abbey.