(Newswire.net — February 20, 2016) — The Italian writer and philosopher Umberto Eco passed away at the age of 84, his family has said. He is best known for his 1980’s historical mystery novel “Il Nome Della Rosa” (‘The Name of the Rose, 1983), later adapted into a movie starring Sean Connery and Christian Slater, directed by Jean-Jacques Annaud.
According to critics however, his best novel is “Il Pendolo Di Foucault” (Foucault’s Pendulum, 1989), the literary masterpiece written to make readers think and delve deeper into the subject matters. Many critics have said that Dan Brown’s The Da Vinci Code is Eco’s Foucault’s Pendulum but written for the masses.
Umberto Eco was a philosopher with a special interest in semiotics, a science that studies signs and their meanings. He made semiotics popular by introducing it into his literary works. Fascinated with his ancient countryman Leonardo Da Vinci, he often had messages about art, history and life, hidden in his novels for the readers to explore. For example, in Foucault’s Pendulum, he explained that any written material or any number or a sequence of numbers could be manipulated to fit an event in history or a scientific fact. The same was with religion. The only truths that could not be manipulated are the laws of mother nature.
The Name of the Rose remains Eco’s most popular novel. This medieval metaphysical thriller written in detective-like style inspired Dan Brown to apply the same principle to his novels, according to some critics. The novel about an investigation into a monk’s death combines a chronicle of the 14th century religious war, a history of monastic orders and an account of heretical movements. It makes Professor Eco an Italian star and one of the the world’s most loveable novelists.
“Chased by journalists, courted for his cultural commentaries, revered for his expansive erudition, Eco came to be considered the most important Italian writer alive. In the years since, he has continued to write fanciful essays, scholarly works, and four more best-selling novels, including Foucault’s Pendulum (1988) and The Mysterious Flame of Queen Loana (2004),” wrote the Paris Review.
His philosophical works included “Art and Beauty in the Middle Ages,” “The Aesthetics of Thomas Aquinas,” “The Middle Ages of James Joyce,” and “Kant and the Platypus: Essay on Language and Cognition.”