''The Name of the Rose'' ( it, Il nome della rosa) is a

historical drama A historical drama (also period drama, costume drama, and period piece) is a work set in a past time period, usually used in the context of film and television. Historical drama includes historical fiction and romance film, romances, adventure f ...

television

miniseries A miniseries or mini-series is a television series that tells a story in a predetermined, limited number of episodes. "Limited series" is another more recent US term which is sometimes used interchangeably. , the popularity of miniseries format h ...

created and directed by

Giacomo Battiato Giacomo Battiato is an Italian film director and writer. One guide to Italian cinema says he:''The History of the Italian Cinema'' (Princeton University Press, 2009), p. ?? Born in Verona and married to Anna Zaneva since 1999, he began his car ...

for

RAI RAI – Radiotelevisione italiana (; commercially styled as Rai since 2000; known until 1954 as Radio Audizioni Italiane) is the national public broadcasting company of Italy, owned by the Ministry of Economy and Finance. RAI operates many terr ...

. It is based on the 1980 international bestseller novel of the same name by

Umberto Eco Umberto Eco (5 January 1932 – 19 February 2016) was an Italian medievalist, philosopher, semiotician, novelist, cultural critic, and political and social commentator. In English, he is best known for his popular 1980 novel ''The Name of the ...

. The series stars

John Turturro John Michael Turturro (; born February 28, 1957) is an American actor and filmmaker. He is known for his contributions to the independent film movement. He has appeared in over sixty feature films and has worked frequently with the Coen brothers, ...

William of Baskerville William of Baskerville ( it, Guglielmo da Baskerville, ) is a fictional Franciscan friar from the 1980 historical mystery novel ''The Name of the Rose'' (''Il nome della rosa'') by Umberto Eco. Life and death ''The Name of the Rose'' is itself ...

and

Rupert Everett Rupert James Hector Everett (; born 29 May 1959) is an English actor, director and producer. Everett first came to public attention in 1981 when he was cast in Julian Mitchell's play and subsequent film '' Another Country'' (1984) as a gay pupil ...

Bernard Gui Bernard Gui (), also known as Bernardo Gui or Bernardus Guidonis (c. 1261/62 – 30 December 1331), was a Dominican friar, Bishop of Lodève, and a papal inquisitor during the later stages of the Medieval Inquisition. Due to his fictionalis ...

. It was co-produced by Italian production companies 11 Marzo Film and Palomar, and distributed internationally by the

Tele München Group Leonine Holding GmbH, LLC, formerly Tele München Group, LLC (German: Tele München Gruppe; TMG), is a media company based in Munich. The activities of Leonine include trade in licenses, investments in television and radio stations and distributio ...

. ''The Name of the Rose'' premiered on 4 March 2019 on

Rai 1 Rai 1 () is an Italian free-to-air television channel owned and operated by state-owned public broadcaster RAI – Radiotelevisione italiana. It is the company's flagship television channel, and is known for broadcasting mainstream and general ...

, which commissioned the series in November 2017.

Plot

Piedmontese Piedmontese (; autonym: or , in it, piemontese) is a language spoken by some 2,000,000 people mostly in Piedmont, northwestern region of Italy. Although considered by most linguists a separate language, in Italy it is often mistakenly regard ...

Alps The Alps () ; german: Alpen ; it, Alpi ; rm, Alps ; sl, Alpe . are the highest and most extensive mountain range system that lies entirely in Europe, stretching approximately across seven Alpine countries (from west to east): France, Sw ...

Northern Italy Northern Italy ( it, Italia settentrionale, it, Nord Italia, label=none, it, Alta Italia, label=none or just it, Nord, label=none) is a geographical and cultural region in the northern part of Italy. It consists of eight administrative regions ...

, end of November

1327 Year 1327 ( MCCCXXVII) was a common year starting on Thursday (link will display the full calendar) of the Julian calendar. Events January–December * January 25 – The 14-year-old Edward III is proclaimed King of England, af ...

Pope John XXII Pope John XXII ( la, Ioannes PP. XXII; 1244 – 4 December 1334), born Jacques Duèze (or d'Euse), was head of the Catholic Church from 7 August 1316 to his death in December 1334. He was the second and longest-reigning Avignon Pope, elected by ...

and the Emperor Louis the Bavarian are at war: the separation between religion and politics is at stake. The Franciscan friar

(), followed by the young novice Adso of Melk, reaches an isolated

Benedictine , image = Medalla San Benito.PNG , caption = Design on the obverse side of the Saint Benedict Medal , abbreviation = OSB , formation = , motto = (English: 'Pray and Work') , foun ...

abbey An abbey is a type of monastery used by members of a religious order under the governance of an abbot or abbess. Abbeys provide a complex of buildings and land for religious activities, work, and housing of Christian monks and nuns. The conce ...

to participate in a dispute over the evangelical counsel of

poverty Poverty is the state of having few material possessions or little income. Poverty can have diverse social, economic, and political causes and effects. When evaluating poverty in ...

between representatives of the

Franciscan Order , image = FrancescoCoA PioM.svg , image_size = 200px , caption = A cross, Christ's arm and Saint Francis's arm, a universal symbol of the Franciscans , abbreviation = OFM , predecessor = , ...

and the

Avignon papacy The Avignon Papacy was the period from 1309 to 1376 during which seven successive popes resided in Avignon – at the time within the Kingdom of Burgundy-Arles, Kingdom of Arles, part of the Holy Roman Empire; now part of France – rather than i ...

. Upon arrival in the abbey the two are involved in a chain of mysterious deaths.

Cast

Starring

Franciscan The Franciscans are a group of related Mendicant orders, mendicant Christianity, Christian Catholic religious order, religious orders within the Catholic Church. Founded in 1209 by Italian Catholic friar Francis of Assisi, these orders include t ...

friar, inspired from

William of Ockam William of Ockham, OFM (; also Occam, from la, Gulielmus Occamus; 1287 – 10 April 1347) was an English Franciscan friar, scholastic philosopher, apologist, and Catholic theologian, who is believed to have been born in Ockham, a small vil ...

. *

, Dominican

inquisitor An inquisitor was an official (usually with judicial or investigative functions) in an inquisition – an organization or program intended to eliminate heresy and other things contrary to the doctrine or teachings of the Catholic faith. Literal ...

. * as of

Melk Melk (; older spelling: ) is a city of Austria, in the federal state of Lower Austria, next to the Wachau valley along the Danube. Melk has a population of 5,257 (as of 2012). It is best known as the site of a massive baroque Benedictine monastery ...

, Benedectine novice, inspired from

Adso of Montier-en-Der Adso of Montier-en-Der ( la, Adso Dervensis) (910/920 – 992) was abbot of the Benedictine monastery of Montier-en-Der in France, and died on a pilgrimage to Jerusalem. Biographical information on Adso comes mainly from one single source and has c ...

. **

Peter Davison Peter Malcolm Gordon Moffett (born 13 April 1951), known professionally as Peter Davison, is an English actor with many credits in television dramas and sitcoms. He made his television acting debut in 1975 and became famous in 1978 as Tristan ...

narrates the events of the series from the point of view of an old Adso. *

Fabrizio Bentivoglio Fabrizio Bentivoglio (born 4 January 1957) is an Italian cinema and theatre actor and screenwriter. Biography Fabrizio Bentivoglio was born in Milan (his father is Venetian). After only one season in the juvenile team of Inter, he left his spor ...

as Remigio of Varagine, ex-

Dulcinian {{no footnotes, date=July 2018 The Dulcinians were a religious sect of the Late Middle Ages, originating within the Apostolic Brethren. The Dulcinians, or Dulcinites, and Apostolics were inspired by Franciscan ideals and influenced by the Joachimi ...

cellarer A cellarium (from the Latin ''cella'', "pantry"), also known as an ''undercroft'', was a storehouse or storeroom, usually in a medieval monastery or castle. In English monasteries, it was usually located in or under the buildings on the west range ...

. *

Greta Scarano Greta Scarano (born 27 August 1986) is an Italian television, stage and film actress. Life and career Born in Rome, Scarano made her professional debut in the TV-series '' R.I.S. - Delitti imperfetti''. Between 2008 and 2009, she played Sabrina ...

Margherita Margherita is an Italian feminine given name. It also is a surname. As a word, in Italian it means " daisy". Given name As a name, it may refer to: *Margherita Aldobrandini (1588–1646), Duchess consort of Parma *Margherita de' Medici (1612 ...

/ Anna, Dolcino's partner / Margherita's and Dolcino's secret daughter. ** Kiara McKormick portrays Anna as a child. *

Richard Sammel Richard Sammel (born 13 October 1960) is a German actor. He is best known for his role as Thomas Eichhorst on the FX television series ''The Strain'' (2014–2017). He has appeared in more than 100 films and television series since 1991. Per ...

as Malachi of

Hildesheim Hildesheim (; nds, Hilmessen, Hilmssen; la, Hildesia) is a city in Lower Saxony, Germany with 101,693 inhabitants. It is in the district of Hildesheim, about southeast of Hanover on the banks of the Innerste River, a small tributary of the Lei ...

, librarian of the abbey. * as , ex-

, friend of Remigio. *

Roberto Herlitzka Roberto Herlitzka (born 2 October 1937) is an Italian theatre and film actor of Czechoslovak descent. He has appeared in 38 films since 1973. He was born in Turin, Piedmont, Italy. In 2004 he won the David di Donatello for Best Supporting Actor ...

as Alinardo of

Grottaferrata Grottaferrata () is a small town and ''comune'' in the Metropolitan City of Rome, situated on the lower slopes of the Alban Hills, south east of Rome. It has grown up around the Abbey of Santa Maria di Grottaferrata, founded in 1004. Nearby commu ...

, the oldest monk. * as Nicolas of

Morimondo Morimondo ( lmo, Morimond or locally ''Marmond'' ) is a ''comune'' (municipality) in the Metropolitan City of Milan in the Italian region Lombardy, located about southwest of Milan. It is home to the Abbey of Morimondo Morimondo Abbey ( it, Abb ...

, monk and master glassmaker. * as Berengar of

Arundel Arundel ( ) is a market town and civil parish in the Arun District of the South Downs, West Sussex, England. The much-conserved town has a medieval castle and Roman Catholic cathedral. Arundel has a museum and comes second behind much large ...

, assistant librarian of the abbey. * Antonia Fotaras as the

Occitan Occitan may refer to: * Something of, from, or related to the Occitania territory in parts of France, Italy, Monaco and Spain. * Something of, from, or related to the Occitania administrative region of France. * Occitan language Occitan (; o ...

Girl, Adso's lover. * Guglielmo Favilla as Venanzio of Salvemec, monk in the

Scriptorium Scriptorium (), literally "a place for writing", is commonly used to refer to a room in medieval European monasteries devoted to the writing, copying and illuminating of manuscripts commonly handled by monastic scribes. However, lay scribes and ...

. *

Piotr Adamczyk Piotr Aleksander Adamczyk (; born March 21, 1972) is a Polish film, television, voice and theatre actor. He is known for portraying pianist and composer Frédéric Chopin in the biographical film ''Chopin: Desire for love'' (2002), Pope John Pau ...

as Severinus of

Saint Emmeram Saint Emmeram of Regensburg (also ''Emeram(m)us'', ''Emmeran'', ''Emmerano'', ''Emeran'', ''Heimrammi'', ''Haimeran'', or ''Heimeran'') was a Christian bishop and a martyr born in Poitiers, Aquitaine. Having heard of idolatry in Bavaria, Emmeram ...

, monk and herbalist. *

Tchéky Karyo Tchéky Karyo (; born 4 October 1953) is a French actor and musician of Turkish origin. Beginning his career as an actor on stage in classical and contemporary works, he began to work as a character actor in films in the 1980s. He has acted in nu ...

. * Benjamin Stender as Benno of

Uppsala Uppsala (, or all ending in , ; archaically spelled ''Upsala'') is the county seat of Uppsala County and the List of urban areas in Sweden by population, fourth-largest city in Sweden, after Stockholm, Gothenburg, and Malmö. It had 177,074 inha ...

, young scandinavian monk and new assistant librarian. *

Claudio Bigagli Claudio Bigagli (born 8 December 1955) is an Italian actor. He has appeared in more than 40 films and television shows since 1976. He starred in ''Fiorile'', which was entered into the 1993 Cannes Film Festival. Selected filmography * '' The F ...

as Jerome of Kaffa,

friar and bishop of the imperial delegation. *

Corrado Invernizzi Corrado Invernizzi (born 25 April 1965) is an Italian actor. Biography In movies, he appeared in Vincere (directed by Marco Bellocchio) as a psychiatrist, in Ford v. Ferrari, directed by James Mangold as Franco Gozzi (Enzo Ferrari's right han ...

Michael of Cesena Michael of Cesena (''Michele di Cesena'' or ''Michele Fuschi'') ( 1270 – 29 November 1342) was an Italian Franciscan, Minister General of that order, and theologian. His advocacy of evangelical poverty brought him into conflict with Pope ...

theologian and leader of the imperial delegation. * Max Malatesta as Aymaro of

Alessandria Alessandria (; pms, Lissandria ) is a city and ''comune'' in Piedmont, Italy, and the capital of the Province of Alessandria. The city is sited on the alluvial plain between the Tanaro and the Bormida rivers, about east of Turin. Alessandria ...

amanuensis An amanuensis () is a person employed to write or type what another dictates or to copy what has been written by another, and also refers to a person who signs a document on behalf of another under the latter's authority. In one example Eric Fenby ...

monk. *

Alessio Boni Alessio Boni (born 4 July 1966) is an Italian actor. Life Boni was born in Sarnico in 1966. He studied theatre at the Accademia Nazionale d'Arte Drammatica. The second of three children, Marco is the eldest and Andrea is the youngest brother. ...

as Dolcino of

Novara Novara (, Novarese: ) is the capital city of the province of Novara in the Piedmont region in northwest Italy, to the west of Milan. With 101,916 inhabitants (on 1 January 2021), it is the second most populous city in Piedmont after Turin. It is ...

, founder and leader of the

Dulcinians {{no footnotes, date=July 2018 The Dulcinians were a religious sect of the Late Middle Ages, originating within the Apostolic Brethren. The Dulcinians, or Dulcinites, and Apostolics were inspired by Franciscan ideals and influenced by the Joachimi ...

. *

Sebastian Koch Sebastian Koch (born 31 May 1962) is a German television and film actor. He is known for roles in the 2007 Academy Award-winning film ''The Lives of Others'', in Steven Spielberg's '' Bridge of Spies'', and as Otto Düring in the fifth season of ...

as the Baron of Neuenberg, emperor's general and Adso's father. *

James Cosmo James Ronald Gordon Copeland , known professionally as James Cosmo (b. 1947), is a Scottish film and television actor known for his appearances in films including '' Highlander'', ''Braveheart'', ''Trainspotting'', ''Jagame Thandhiram'', ''Tro ...

as Jorge of

Burgos Burgos () is a city in Spain located in the autonomous community of Castile and León. It is the capital and most populated municipality of the province of Burgos. Burgos is situated in the north of the Iberian Peninsula, on the confluence of t ...

, old blind monk and former librarian. *

Michael Emerson Michael Emerson (born September 7, 1954) is an American actor who is best known for his roles as serial killer William Hinks on ''The Practice'', Benjamin Linus on ''Lost'', Zep Hindle in the first ''Saw'' film, Cayden James on ''Arrow'', and H ...

as the Abbone of

Fossanova Fossanova Abbey, earlier Fossa Nuova, is a Church (building), church that was formerly a Cistercian abbey located near the railway-station of Priverno in province of Latina, Latina, Italy, about south-east of Rome. History Fossanova is one of t ...

abbot Abbot is an ecclesiastical title given to the male head of a monastery in various Western religious traditions, including Christianity. The office may also be given as an honorary title to a clergyman who is not the head of a monastery. The fem ...

of the monastery.

Also starring

* Rinat Khismatouline as Cardinal

Bertrand du Pouget Bertrand du Pouget (Italian ''Bertrando del Poggetto'') (1280 – 3 February 1352) was a French papal diplomat and Cardinal. Bertrand was born in Castelnau-Montratier. He may have been a nephew of Pope John XXII. As cardinal he was closely ...

papal legate 300px, A woodcut showing Henry II of England greeting the pope's legate. A papal legate or apostolic legate (from the ancient Roman title ''legatus'') is a personal representative of the pope to foreign nations, or to some part of the Catholic ...

and leader of the papal delegation. * as Bianca. * David Brandon as Hugh of

Newcastle Newcastle usually refers to: *Newcastle upon Tyne, a city and metropolitan borough in Tyne and Wear, England *Newcastle-under-Lyme, a town in Staffordshire, England *Newcastle, New South Wales, a metropolitan area in Australia, named after Newcastle ...

theologian and scholastic philosopher, disciple of

Duns Scotus John Duns Scotus ( – 8 November 1308), commonly called Duns Scotus ( ; ; "Duns the Scot"), was a Scottish Catholic priest and Franciscan friar, university professor, philosopher, and theologian. He is one of the four most important ...

Supporting

* as Adelmo of

Otranto Otranto (, , ; scn, label= Salentino, Oṭṛàntu; el, label=Griko, Δερεντό, Derentò; grc, Ὑδροῦς, translit=Hudroûs; la, Hydruntum) is a coastal town, port and ''comune'' in the province of Lecce (Apulia, Italy), in a fertil ...

, young illuminator monk in the

scriptorium Scriptorium (), literally "a place for writing", is commonly used to refer to a room in medieval European monasteries devoted to the writing, copying and illuminating of manuscripts commonly handled by monastic scribes. However, lay scribes and ...

. *

Alfredo Pea Alfredo Pea (born 17 November 1954) is an Italian stage, film and television actor. Life and career Born in Rome, Pea studied acting at the "Studio di arti sceniche" drama school by Alessandro Fersen. He became first known in the mid-seventie ...

as Pacifico of Tivoli. * Derek Boschi as Guillam de Masan. * Federigo Ceci as Eudes, Bishop of

Carpentras Carpentras (, formerly ; Provençal Occitan: ''Carpentràs'' in classical norm or ''Carpentras'' in Mistralian norm; la, Carpentoracte) is a commune in the Vaucluse department in the Provence-Alpes-Côte d'Azur region in southeastern France. ...

. * Diego Delpiano as Martino. * Gianluigi Fogacci as Roberto, count of

Florence Florence ( ; it, Firenze ) is a city in Central Italy and the capital city of the Tuscany region. It is the most populated city in Tuscany, with 383,083 inhabitants in 2016, and over 1,520,000 in its metropolitan area.Bilancio demografico an ...

. *

Nicholas Turturro Nicholas Turturro Jr. (born January 29, 1962) is an American actor, known for his roles in New York City based films and on the television series '' Blue Bloods'' and ''NYPD Blue''. He has collaborated with director Spike Lee since the late 1980s ...

as Pedro López de Luna, Aragonese politician and Archbishop of

Zaragoza Zaragoza, also known in English as Saragossa,''Encyclopædia Britannica'"Zaragoza (conventional Saragossa)" is the capital city of the Zaragoza Province and of the autonomous community of Aragon, Spain. It lies by the Ebro river and its tributari ...

Episodes

Production

Filming began in 2018. The miniseries was shot in Italy and in particular in

Abruzzo Abruzzo (, , ; nap, label=Neapolitan language, Abruzzese Neapolitan, Abbrùzze , ''Abbrìzze'' or ''Abbrèzze'' ; nap, label=Sabino dialect, Aquilano, Abbrùzzu; #History, historically Abruzzi) is a Regions of Italy, region of Southern Italy wi ...

: at the gorges of

Fara San Martino Fara San Martino (locally ''La Fàrë'') is a ''comune'' and town in the Province of Chieti in the Abruzzo region of Italy Italy ( it, Italia ), officially the Italian Republic, ) or the Republic of Italy, is a country in Southern Europe. It ...

, in

Roccamorice Roccamorice is a town and ''comune'' in the province of Pescara, Abruzzo, central Italy. Its distinctive shape is created by the imprint of the Lavino and Lanello rivers, both of which have dried up. See also *Monte Morrone * Hermitage of San Bar ...

, at the

hermitage of Santo Spirito a Majella Eremo di Santo Spirito a Majella (Italian language, Italian for ''Hermitage of Santo Spirito a Majella'') is an Hermitage (religious retreat), hermitage located in Roccamorice, Province of Pescara (Abruzzo, Italy). History Architecture Re ...

and at the

castle of Roccascalegna Castello di Roccascalegna (Italian for ''Castle of Roccascalegna'') is a medieval castle in Roccascalegna, Province of Chieti, Abruzzo, southern Italy. History The castle was principally constructed in the 15th and 16th centuries, at a time ...

. Other panoramas were shot in

Perugia Perugia (, , ; lat, Perusia) is the capital city of Umbria in central Italy, crossed by the River Tiber, and of the province of Perugia. The city is located about north of Rome and southeast of Florence. It covers a high hilltop and part o ...

and

Bevagna Bevagna is a town and ''comune'' in the central part of the Italian province of Perugia (Umbria), in the flood plain of the Topino river. Bevagna is south-east of Perugia, west of Foligno, north-north-west of Montefalco, south of Assisi and ...

, while churches and cloisters were reconstructed in the

Cinecittà studios Cinecittà Studios (; Italian for Cinema City Studios), is a large film studio in Rome, Italy. With an area of 400,000 square metres (99 acres), it is the largest film studio in Europe, and is considered the hub of Italian cinema. The studios wer ...

Rome , established_title = Founded , established_date = 753 BC , founder = King Romulus (legendary) , image_map = Map of comune of Rome (metropolitan city of Capital Rome, region Lazio, Italy).svg , map_caption ...

. Other scenes were shot in the

Vulci Vulci or Volci (Etruscan language, Etruscan: ''Velch'' or ''Velx'', depending on the romanization used) was a rich Etruscan civilization, Etruscan city in what is now northern Lazio, central Italy. As George Dennis (explorer), George Dennis wrot ...

archaeological natural park in the territory of

Montalto di Castro Montalto di Castro is a ''comune'' (municipality) in the Province of Viterbo in the Italian region Lazio, located about northwest of Rome and about west of Viterbo. It is home to a large fossil fuel powered power plant managed by ENEL and the l ...

and in the

Tusculum Tusculum is a ruined Roman city in the Alban Hills, in the Latium region of Italy. Tusculum was most famous in Roman times for the many great and luxurious patrician country villas sited close to the city, yet a comfortable distance from Rome ( ...

Archaeological Cultural Park. The original dialogues in

Occitan language Occitan (; oc, occitan, link=no ), also known as ''lenga d'òc'' (; french: langue d'oc) by its native speakers, and sometimes also referred to as ''Provençal'', is a Romance languages, Romance language spoken in Southern France, Monaco, Ital ...

have been translated and supervised in collaboration with the

University of Salerno The University of Salerno ( it, Università degli Studi di Salerno, UNISA) is a university located in Fisciano and in Baronissi, Italy. Its main campus is located in Fisciano while the Faculty of Medicine is located in Baronissi. It is organized ...

Distribution

In Italy, the miniseries made its world premiere on 4 March 2019 on

. It premiered on 5 March 2019 on OCS in France, on 23 May 2019 on

Sundance TV Sundance TV (formerly known as Sundance Channel) is an American pay television channel owned by AMC Networks that launched on February 1, 1996. The channel is named after Robert Redford's character in ''Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid'' and, w ...

in the United States, on 24 May 2019 on

Sky Deutschland Sky Deutschland GmbH, branded as Sky, is a German media company that operates a direct broadcast satellite Pay TV platform in Germany, Austria and Switzerland (through Sky Switzerland). It provides a collection of basic and premium digital sub ...

in Germany, on 3 October 2019 on SBS in Australia, on 11 October 2019 on

BBC Two BBC Two is a British free-to-air public broadcast television network owned and operated by the BBC. It covers a wide range of subject matter, with a remit "to broadcast programmes of depth and substance" in contrast to the more mainstream an ...

in the United Kingdom, and on 3 July 2022 on

KBS 1TV The Korean Broadcasting System (KBS) () is the national broadcaster of South Korea. Founded in February 1927, it is one of the leading South Korean television and radio broadcasters. KBS operates seven radio networks, ten television channels, a ...

in South Korea.

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Name Of The Rose 2019 Italian television series debuts 2019 Italian television series endings 2010s Italian television miniseries Historical television series The Name of the Rose RAI original programming