In 1967, a Roman publisher released *The Fellowship of the Ring*, the first Tolkien book in Italian, translated by Vittoria Alliata di Villafranca, who was 17 at the time. Today, the concert *Candlelight: The Lord of the Rings* comes to Rome

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Rachele Orsoni

 –  Staff Writer

 ·  November 12, 2026

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Tolkien arrived in Italy with a Roman publisher

In 1967, Casa Editrice Astrolabio, founded in Rome in 1944 by Mario Ubaldini, published *The Fellowship of the Ring*, the first volume of Tolkien’s work translated into Italian. It was translated by Vittoria Alliata di Villafranca, who was 17 years old at the time. The book met with little success, and the other two volumes were not published by Astrolabio. The complete novel was published in 1970 by Rusconi.

A soundtrack with three Oscars and three Grammys

Nearly sixty years later, Rome once again serves as the starting point for an encounter with the saga, this time through the music of the films.

Candlelight: The Lord of the Rings is an approximately one-hour concert featuring the music from Peter Jackson’s trilogy, performed live by a local string quartet amid thousands of candles. It is an official series, presented by Fever and Warner Bros. Discovery Global Experiences to celebrate the 25th anniversary of the films.

The music comes with impressive credentials: Howard Shore won three Oscars and three Grammys for the trilogy—Best Original Score for *The Fellowship of the Ring* and *The Return of the King*, and Best Song for “Into the West.”

Shore himself approved the 13-track set list and the scores. It opens with “Prologue: One Ring to Rule Them All,” moves through “The Return of the King” and “Into the West,” and closes with “The Grey Havens.” No singers or choir: the quartet performs every melody, including the songs.

A Baroque church turned into a concert hall, on Via di Ripetta

The setting for this concert, illuminated by the light of hundreds of candles, is the vaulted ceilings and fresco of the Salone Bernini at Palazzo Ripetta, located at Via di Ripetta 231.

The palace was built in 1672 at the behest of Pope Innocent XI as the seat of the Conservatory of Divine Providence. The hall was the conservatory’s church, consecrated in 1728 by Benedict XIII based on a design by Marquis Gerolamo Theodoli. On the ceiling is the fresco *The Triumph of Divine Providence* by Giacomo Triga.