All posts tagged 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 Rose, a historical mystery combining semiotics in fiction with biblical analysis, medieval studies and literary theory, as well as Foucault’s Pendulum, his 1988 novel which touches on similar themes.

Foucault's Pendulum

Foucault’s Pendulum is Umberto Eco’s novel of a few Milanese book editors who are bored with their work. To pass the time they cook up an elaborate hoax that connects the medieval Knights Templar with occult groups across the centuries. Becoming obsessed with their creation, they produce a map. The map indicates the geographical point from which all the powers of the earth can be controlled. It’s a point located in Paris, France, at Foucault’s Pendulum. But in a fateful...

Read more →

Numero Zero

Numero Zero is a novel written by Umberto Eco and published in 2015. It is a satirical work that explores themes of media manipulation, conspiracy theories, and the blurred line between truth and fiction. The story is set in Milan in 1992 and follows Colonna, a freelance writer who is hired to work for a mysterious publishing project called “Domani” (“Tomorrow”). “Domani” aims to create a nonexistent newspaper, which would be used to manipulate public opinion and serve the interests...

Read more →