How Italy’s hard-right claimed JRR Tolkien

<p>This weekend, Rishi Sunak was in Rome meeting Italy's prime minister Giorgia Meloni. As well as being a fan of the British PM, she's also a devotee&nbsp;of one of the UK's most famous writers - author of The Lord of the Rings, JRR Tolkien. An exhibition on his life and work has opened in the city, so how did he become&nbsp;a cultural icon for the for Italy’s hard-right?</p><p><em>This podcast was brought to you thanks to the support of readers of The Times and The Sunday Times. Subscribe today: thetimes.co.uk/storiesofourtimes.&nbsp;</em></p><p><strong>Guest: </strong>Tom Kington, Italy Correspondent, The Times.&nbsp;</p><p><strong>Host</strong>: Luke Jones</p><p><strong>Read more:</strong>&nbsp;</p><p><a href="https://www.thetimes.co.uk/article/eye-of-meloni-turns-on-jrr-tolkien-exhibition-7xjcf08pq" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">https://www.thetimes.co.uk/article/eye-of-meloni-turns-on-jrr-tolkien-exhibition-7xjcf08pq</a>&nbsp;</p><p><a href="https://www.thetimes.co.uk/article/meloni-attends-tolkien-show-kkhj0dwl2" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">https://www.thetimes.co.uk/article/meloni-attends-tolkien-show-kkhj0dwl2</a>&nbsp;</p><p><strong>Clips</strong>: The Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Ring/New Line Cinema, The Late Show with Stephen Colbert/CBS, MiC Italia, Vista Agenzia Televisiva Nazionale, France 24, Facebook/Giorgia Meloni, Reuters, CGTN, Fanpage.it, DW News, Barbarossa/Martinelli Film Company International/Rai Fiction.</p><p><em>Get in touch: storiesofourtimes@thetimes.co.uk</em></p><p><em>Find out more about our Apple bonus series:&nbsp;</em><a href="https://www.thetimes.co.uk/article/times-subscription-bonus-content-apple-podcasts-gdrm5k6cz" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank"><em>'Inside the Newsroom'</em></a></p><br /><hr><p style='color:grey; font-size:0.75em;'> Hosted on Acast. See <a style='color:grey;' target='_blank' rel='noopener noreferrer' href='https://acast.com/privacy'>acast.com/privacy</a> for more information.</p>