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The Associazione Italiana Studi Tolkieniani (English: “Italian Association of Tolkien Studies”), or AIST, is a Tolkien Society based in Italy.
The AIST was founded in 2014 as a non-profit and non-political association by a group of readers and scholars of the works of J.R.R. Tolkien, including some former members of the Associazione Romana Studi Tolkieniani and other independent scholars and artists.

Headquartes – The Dragon’s Lair

The AIST headquarters are based in the Tana del Drago (English: “Dragon’s Lair”), located in Dozza Imolese, one of Emilia-Romagna’s most beautiful medieval villages. The Tana del Drago is a at the same time a centre for studies focused on J.R.R. Tolkien and the fantastic, a museum devoted to the exhibition of work of arts, books, games and handcrafted objects inspired by the Professor, and a place where his fans can reunite and play their favorite tabletop or roleplaying games set in Middle-earth.

The Dragon’s Lair owes its name to Fyrstan, a dragon who has elected the main tower of Dozza’s Castle (Rocca di Dozza), only a few hundred meters from the Tana, as its residence.

Events

The main event in which the association is involved is FantastikA, organised by the Fondazione Dozza Città d’Arte with the patronage of Dozza municipality. Every two years, when Fyrstan wakes up from its slumber, fantasy artists – illustrators, sculptors, artisans – from all over Italy gather in Dozza to show their works, while seminars, shows and book presenations are organised troughout the whole village of Dozza.

AIST is also present at the main italian book fairs (like Salone del Libro di Torino) and comicons (as Lucca Comics and Games) where its scholarly members often take part in workshops, seminars and round tables, while various artists collaborating with the association expose their works in dedicated exhibitions or at the AIST stand.

Publications and Collaborations

AIST studies are published within the association journal I quaderni di Arda. From 2019 the journal collects studies around a selected theme or academics conferences proceedings resulting from the collaboration with italian universities (Palermo, Parma, Messina, Milano, Trento) and international experts (Tom Shippey, Verlyn Flieger, Renée Vink, Mark Atherton, Thomas Honegger).
From 2025, I Quaderni di Arda are released in an open access electronic format una nuova as part of the official journals of Messina’s university.

Members of the association collaborate with several publishers as consultants, translators, editors and independent scholars; the following collaborations are of note:

Some of the essays published with Marietti and Eterea have also been translated in English with the Walking Tree Publishers:

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