The countdown just keeps getting shorter and shorter! TWO days left now until
publishes
Rome's Angels & Demons: an Insider's Guide
-- a free ebook with inside information about the art and places in
. And you will be able to get your FREE copy right here!
I know. I am impatient, too. So, here's a little snippet...
From Santa Maria della Vittoria, Langdon makes his way to Piazza Navona, Rome’s most famous piazza. Piazza Navona has been a gathering place for millennia. During the Roman Empire, a stadium was built on the site; the Stadium of Domitian became Rome’s premier venue for athletic competitions and, later, chariot races. Eventually the stadium fell out of use, and the city grew up around it. But as the popes reshaped Rome in the sixteenth and seventeenth centuries, they turned their sights on the stadium ruins, transforming the area into an elegant piazza.
Bernini’s rival architect, Borromini, built the church on the piazza, Sant’Agnese in Agone. While Borromini was building his church, Bernini was asked to design a fountain for the piazza. He and the craftsmen in his workshop created the Fontana dei Quattro Fiumi—the Fountain of the Four Rivers. The statues on the fountain depict four continents and rivers:
The horse: Europe and the Danube
The palm and the snake: Asia and the Ganges
The lion: Africa and the Nile
The armadillo: The Americas and the Rio de la Plate
Bernini sculpted only the Danube; the other works were completed by artists in his workshop according to his designs. All the figures in the fountain shield their eyes from the sight of Borromini’s church—perhaps a slight against Bernini’s rival. And luck does not necessarily come to people who throw coins in the Fountain of the Four Rivers—that’s the Trevi Fountain, nearby.
Rome's Angels & Demons: an Insider's Guide
is filled with information about the historical figures, churches, artwork, and locations that figure prominently in
. With maps, visitor information, photographs, and in-depth insights, it is a great guide to the city of Rome and the fascinating world Dan Brown has created.
Check back here tomorrow for one more peek into
Rome's Angels & Demons
, my free guide for book and movie lovers everywhere!