Tolkien exhibition in Rome drew 80,000 visitors.

Italy's first major exhibition dedicated to the celebrated British fantasy writer J.R.R. Tolkien is preparing to open in Naples following a successful run in Rome.

Titled Tolkien: Uomo, Professore, Autore, the exhibition marks the 50th anniversary of the death of The Lord of the Rings writer and will open at the Palazzo Reale in Naples from 15 March until 30 June.

The show which first opened last November at the National Gallery of Modern Art in Rome in the presence of Italy's premier Giorgia Meloni, attracted more than 80,000 visitors.

La mostra su #Tolkien è stata uno straordinario successo di contenuti, sottolineato dalla grande partecipazione di pubblico. pic.twitter.com/Uk3JkypKiv

— Gennaro Sangiuliano (@g_sangiuliano) February 13, 2024

The Rome show was hailed as "an extraordinary success" by Italy's culture ministry Gennaro Sangiuliano whose ministry promoted the exhibition.

The exhibit, which comes to Italy 50 years after the first Italian edition of The Hobbit, comprises more than 150 works including photographs, documents, letters and virtual reconstructions of the first editions of the books from which the blockbuster fantasy trilogy by director Peter Jackson is based.

After Naples the show will travel to the north Italian city of Turin and the Sicilian city of Catania later this year.