Three days of unmissable events for all Tolkien fans.
A preview on the evening of the 12th, followed by September 13th and 14th, which will be the most intense days of the 29th edition of Hobbiton. The 2025 edition will take place in Gorizia, the year the city celebrates being the European Capital of Culture. There will be many conferences on topics related to Middle-earth, along with animations, music, workshops, markets, and a food area.
FRIDAY 12th SEPTEMBER
KULTURNI DOM – Ridotto
(Via I. Brass 20 – GO)
Free admission without reservetion
- 18.00 Conference dedicated to Tom Bombadil with author Paolo Gulisano, composer Matteo Sarcinelli, and director Giulio Leone, in collaboration with Associazione musicale Gottardo Tomat.
The conference will be available only in italian.
Following, from 8:45 PM, organized by Associazione musicale Gottardo Tomat, in the Grand Hall of Kulturni Dom, the premiere of the opera titled
“TOM,” will take place. Italian version. Reservations are required.
SATURDAY 13th SEPTEMBER
Fireplace Room
UGG – via G. Rismondo, 2
Free admission without reservation
For all conferences, an Italian-English and English-Italian translation system will be available.
- 10:00 AM – Opening with institutional greetings.
- 10:30 AM – Norse Mythology in Tolkien: Arda and Midgard at the Final Frontier. With Manuel Massimiliano La Placa, author and passionate scholar of traditions, mythology, history, fantasy literature, and Tolkien.
- 11:30 AM – A journey to discover Tolkien’s languages through his writings. With Gianluca Comastri, scholar of Tolkienian languages and dubbing consultant for Amazon Prime.
- 12:30 PM – The trees of The Lord of the Rings. With Andrea Cosma.
- 3:30 PM – And the Creation Fell Silent – The Fall of Numenor and the Violation of the Pact with Nature. With Luisa Rainer Chiap, archaeologist, anthropologist, and history teacher.
- 4:45 PM – The Hidden Origins of Middle-earth. J.R.R. Tolkien and the Unconscious. With Claudia Giordani, author and member of the Italian Society of the History of Religions (SISR), scholar of heterodox Christian currents of the early centuries; and Luigi Zumbo, author and scholar of Carl Gustav Jung, Henry Corbin, Peter Kingsley, and J.R.R. Tolkien.
- 6:00 PM – Tolkien: father of modern Fantasy. With Shaun Gunner, CEO of the Tolkien Society (the English Tolkien Society). The conference will be in English or Italian version.
- 7.00 PM – Mediterranean Resonances in Middle-Earth. With Mina Lukić, president of Tolkinovo društvo Srbije (the Serbian Tolkien Society). The conference will be in English or Italian version.
Giardini Pubblici of Corso Verdi
- 8:30 PM – Whispers from Middle-earth. Reading of some passages from The Lord of the Rings with musical accompaniment by Compagnia de’ Viaggiatori in Arme.
Piazza Vittoria area Cosplay & Fun
- 4:00 PM – “Lord of the Rings” Contest inspired by characters from J.R.R. Tolkien’s works.
Participation in the competition is free; registration is required between 11:00 a.m. and 3:00 p.m. by filling out a specific form at the Aulùs APS stand in Giardini Pubblici (the Public Gardens).Award categories include:- Jury’s Prize
- Best Film/TV Series Character
- Best Character in Armor
- Best Villain
- Best Character and Performance
Giardini Pubblici of Corso Verdi
11:00 AM and 4:30 PM – Armigeri performances announced by the sound of drums from Street Drums GO.
Two different medieval fencing companies, Flos Ferri and Nova Compania dei Vis Ferri, will stage epic duels and spectacular battles, worthy of the most exciting pages of The Lord of the Rings.
Throughout the day, you will also be able to admire a real medieval-style camp with weapons on display.
Historic Room
UGG
From 2:30 PM to 3:30 PM, basic harp lessons for children by elf Aryan Landir. Free activity.
Upper Room
UGG
From 3:30 PM, Elvish language workshop led by Gianluca Comastri, Free activity, available only in Italian. Reservations are appreciated as the capacity in the room is limited. It will be possible to book before and after the 11.30 am conference that Comastri will hold in the Sala del Caminetto.
Giardini Pubblici of Corso Verdi
In the Compagnia dei Viaggiatori in Arme area there will be various activities available throughout the day for adults and children.
- Rune Reading
- Card Reading (Lord of the Rings)
- Fencing Lessons for Children (Basics)
- Miniature Painting Workshop
- Knitting Workshop
- Role-playing Game Demo: The Last Ring
SUNDAY 14th SEPTEMBER
Fireplace Room
UGG – via G. Rismondo, 2
Free admission without reservation
For all conferences, an Italian-English and English-Italian translation system will be available.
- 10:00 AM – Wondering without crossing boundaries, interpreting without reinventing. How and why the Italian translation of “The Lord of the Rings” by Vittoria Alliata di Villafranca (1967) marked the history of Tolkien’s imaginary in Italy. With Marco Leonardi, a university researcher in Medieval History at the University of Catania, scholar of the Dominican Order in the Late Middle Ages, and collaborator with the “Tolkien Society” for the study of historical sources in “The Lord of the Rings.” He is a lay Dominican.
- 11:15 AM – Wizards, wild men, trolls, fairies, elves, and krivapete – a comparison between European magical creatures and their counterparts in the worlds narrated by Tolkien. With Nataša Cvijanovic, a graduate in Italian studies, scholar of the Slavic world, conducting linguistic and literary studies.
- 12:30 PM – Tolkien-economics: J.R.R. Tolkien’s market in the world. Interviews Alessandro Stanchi, teaching professor of Statistics and Mathematics for Economics and Business at ESCP Business School (Turin campus). He is a university lecturer in Turin, Valle d’Aosta, and at the Army Application School of Turin. His areas of interest include economic development, environmental resources, media economics, culture, maritime, and military sectors. By Manuel Massimiliano La Placa.
- 3:00 PM Tolkien and the mos maiorum: universal values and traditions of Middle-earth. With Mario Polia, historian, anthropologist, ethnographer. He is a Professor of Anthropology at the Pontifical Gregorian University in Rome, director of the Demo-anthropological Museum of Leonessa, and president of the Center for Picene Traditions Studies in Ascoli Piceno.
- 4:30 PM Tolkien and Slovenia. Blaž Berlec from Gil Galad, Slovenian Tolkien Society. The conference available will be in English or Italian version.
- 5:30 PM Roundtable with the presidents of the attending Tolkien societies. The conference available will be in English or Italian.
Giardini Pubblici of Corso Verdi
- 7:00 PM Music and stories from Middle-earth with the Elf-Hobbit trio of Aryan Lindir & the Baggins. Songs and music played on harp, violin, choirs, and flutes, readings, by Paolo Paron (in Italian), from The Lord of the Rings.
Giardini Pubblici of Corso Verdi
11:00 AM and 4:30 PM – Armigeri performances announced by the sound of drums from Street Drums GO.
Two different medieval fencing companies, Flos Ferri and Nova Compania dei Vis Ferri, will stage epic duels and spectacular battles, worthy of the most exciting pages of The Lord of the Rings.
Throughout the day, you will also be able to admire a real medieval-style camp with weapons on display.
Upper Room
UGG
At 10:30 AM and 4:00 PM, basic harp lessons for children by elf Aryan Landir. Free activity, until room capacity.
Giardini Pubblici of Corso Verdi
In the Compagnia dei Viaggiatori in Arme area there will be various activities available throughout the day for adults and children.
- Rune Reading
- Card Reading (Lord of the Rings)
- Fencing Lessons for Children (Basics)
- Miniature Painting Workshop
- Knitting Workshop
- Role-playing Game Demo: The Last Ring