This Book Lovers Day we reflect on the fact that we started touring Rome with a book, Angels and Demons by Dan Brown. To mark the occasion we have compiled a list of the top books to read when touring in Rome.

We have also created a competition to win 2 x tickets for a selected tour up to the total value of €250*.

All you have to do is select one of the choices below for your favorite Rome book and participate in our bookish survey before August 5th to be in with a chance to win.

1. Angels and Demons - Dan Brown

vatican staircase

Rome, a city of stunning architecture, art and a complex relationship with the Vatican. The city looms large in this thrilling novel of the popes and a conspiracy involving a destructive weapon with its roots in religious symbolism. 

Related Tours - The Original Angels & Demons Tour

2. I, Claudius - Robert Graves

roman statue

Set in the First Century A.D. and written as an autobiographical memoir, this colorful story of the life of the Roman emperor Claudius stands as one of the modern classics of historical fiction.

Related Tours - Rome Tours

3. Conclave - Robert Harris

st peter's basilica

Although the Vatican is not technically in Rome, we had to include it in this list as it is so thrilling. After the pope dies, we are taken behind the closed doors of the Sistine Chapel as 118 powerful cardinals gather to elect his successor.

Related Tours - Vatican Tours

4. Pompeii - Robert Harris

the last day of Pompeii

The Last Day of Pompeii by Karl Bryullov (1833)

The young engineer Marcus Attilius Primus is sent to Pompeii because the water is not flowing through the aqueduct. He discovers many reasons why this happening – corruption, politics and Mother Nature.

Related Tour - Pompeii & Mt. Vesuvius From Rome Day trip

5. The Agony and the Ecstasy - Irving Stone

sistine chapel

Michelangelo is thirteen when we first meet him. He dies when he is 88, and in the intervening years, we follow his relationship with various popes who set him the task of creating incredible works of art like the Sistine Chapel.

Related Tour - Vatican Museum, Sistine Chapel and St. Peter's Basilica

When it comes to being transported to foreign lands, you cannot beat a good book. You know you're getting into vacation mode when you start thinking about your holiday reads. What better way than to combine travel with reading than by entering our competition!

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