TOLKIEN. Man, Professor, Author - From today the exhibition at the Royal Palace of Naples

For the seventieth anniversary of the publication of the first two volumes of The Lord of the Rings and after the extraordinary success in Rome with over 80.000 visitors, on March 16th it arrives at the Royal Palace of Naples.

For the seventieth anniversary of the publication of the first two volumes of The Lord of the Rings, Naples will host from March 16 to July 2, 2024 at Palazzo Reale the great exhibition dedicated to John Ronald Reuel Tolkien, creator of the famous Middle-earth epic that shaped a new mythology for the contemporary world and made him one of the most read authors on the planet.

TOLKIEN. Man, Professor, Author tells us about the human journey, the academic work, the narrative power and the poetic strength of the famous novelist through an unparalleled journey, thanks to which enthusiasts and the public will be introduced to the greatness of this author and will understand how his extraordinary knowledge of the ancient world is at the basis of his creative process.

After the major exhibitions held in Oxford (2018), Paris (2020) and Milwaukee (2022), which highlighted particular aspects of his literary works, TOLKIEN. Man, Professor, Author is the first exhibition of this size ever held in Italy that places the writer at the centre of everything and in which it will be possible to discover the various facets of his life: the man, father and friend, academic, author of essays and publications that are still fundamental today in the study of Old and Middle English literature, the narrator and sub-creator of Middle Earth. There will also be space to tell the story of the relationship that tied him to our country and the Italian publishing history of his works as well as what he inspired in art, music and the world of comics.

The immersion in the universe he created is achieved through a complex exhibition path among autographed manuscripts, letters, memorabilia, photographs and works of art born from the literary visions of a unique and multifaceted author. A man of his time, a linguist and philologist, the Oxford Professor is described in his artistic and human complexity.

Particular emphasis is placed on his relationship with Italy: "I'm in love with Italian, and I feel quite lost without the opportunity to try speaking it," he writes in one of his letters. The exhibition also includes accounts of his 1955 trip to Venice and Assisi, as well as his many direct and indirect contacts with scholars and intellectuals in our country.

There is also space for old and new cinematic adaptations, from Ralph Bakshi's animated film to the Lord of the Rings trilogy by director Peter Jackson, capable of representing on the big screen one of the most ambitious and popular sagas in world literature, winning 17 Oscars.

Strongly desired by Minister Sangiuliano and promoted by the Ministry of Culture with the collaboration of the University of Oxford, it is produced by COR Creare Organizzare Realizzare with the Cultural Association Costruire Cultura, curated by Oronzo Cilli and co-curated and organized by Alessandro Nicosia, TOLKIEN. Man, Professor, Author is the most important retrospective of its kind in Italy for its spectacular nature, size, unpublished materials on display and the authority of the international institutions involved: the University of Reading, the Oratory of San Filippo Neri in Birmingham, the Venerable English College in Rome, the Tolkien Society, the Arnoldo and Alberto Mondadori Foundation, the Benedetto Croce Library Foundation, the Astrolabio-Ubaldini and Bompiani publishing houses, the Greisinger Museum in Jenins and Warner Bros Discovery.

“The exhibition on Tolkien at the Palazzo Reale in Naples, after the extraordinary success at the Galleria Nazionale d’Arte Moderna e Contemporanea in Rome, offers the public a further opportunity to discover or rediscover the experiences and imagination of this extraordinary author, who with his values ​​has profoundly influenced twentieth-century literature: friendship, solidarity, brotherhood, love of nature and, above all, the protection of humanity and its spiritual dimension are all central elements of his work, unpopular with a certain nihilism to which we strongly oppose”, commented Minister Sangiuliano.

The catalogue accompanying the exhibition, published by Skira, features contributions from Adriano Monti Buzzetti Colella, Giuseppe Pezzini, Emma Giammattei, Francesco Nepitello, Chiara Bertoglio, Gianluca Comastri, Father Guglielmo Spirito, Fabio Celoni, Davide Martini, Roberta Tosi, Salvatore Santangelo, Stefano Giuliano, Claudio Mattia Serafin, Gianfranco de Turris, Paolo Paron and Domenico Dimichino.

Rome was the first stop on a journey that, after Naples, will continue to Turin and subsequently to other cities. Thanks to the MiC, which promoted and supported the planning with the aim of encouraging everyone's participation in cultural life, the exhibition, running from November 15, 2023, to February 11, 2024, was a resounding success in Rome, with 80.226 visitors, including 2.091 on the final day.

“In a hole in the ground there lived a Hobbit”. With these words the author began the beautiful adventure of Bilbo Baggins and lit a fervent spark in generations of readers, revealing Middle Earth and its inhabitants: Hobbits and Elves, Dwarves and Men. The same ones who have never stopped accompanying us in that story that became legend and then transformed into Myth: TOLKIEN. Man, Professor, Author is their home. And your Exhibition.