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

TOLKIEN. Man, Professor, Author There tells 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 basis of his creative process.

After the major exhibitions held in Oxford (2018), Paris (2020) and Milwaukee (2022), which highlighted particular aspects of literary works, TOLKIEN. Man, Professor, Author is the first exhibition of this size ever held in Italy which places the writer at the center 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 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 talk about the relationship that linked 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. 

Immersion in the universe he created is achieved through a complex exhibition itinerary including autograph manuscripts , letters , memorabilia , photographs and works of art born from the literary visions of a unique and multifaceted author . Man of his time, linguist and philologist, the Oxford Professor is told in his artistic and human complexity.

Particular importance is given to his relationship with Italy: "I am in love with Italian, and I feel somewhat lost without the possibility of trying to speak it" , we read in one of his letters, and in the review there is no lack of testimonies of the trip to Venice and Assisi in 1955; as well as the many contacts, direct and indirect, with scholars and intellectuals of our country.

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

Strongly desired by Minister Sangiuliano and promoted by the Ministry of Culture with the collaboration of the University of Oxford , it is created by COR Creare Organize Realize with the Cultural Association Costruire Cultura , with the curatorship of Oronzo Cilli and the co-curatorship and organization 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 of 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 of Jenins and Warner Bros Discovery .