FAQ

Bernardo Gui, Ubertino da Casale, Michele da Cesena and Cardinal Bertrand (Bertrando del Poggetto) are all historical characters, although their fates in the movie don't necessarily reflect what happened to them in real life.

Other historical characters mentioned but not seen are Dolcino, former leader of a reformist movement, Pope John XXII and of course Francis of Assisi, founder of the Franciscans and Saint of the Catholic Church.

Yes, the movie is based on the 1980 novel Il Nome della Rosa by Italian writer/professor Umberto Eco. It was translated as The Name of the Rose in 1983.

In the movie, the 'rose' seems to refer to the girl, of who Adso has thought so many times, although he doesn't even know her name.

However, in the last chapter of the book, the elderly Adso looks back on his life and contemplates that all memories and souvenirs we cherish merely remember us of things we have lost and are no longer there. He illustrates this with a Latin proverb: stat rosa pristina nomine, nomina nuda tenemus: "yesterday's rose endures in its name, we hold but empty names"; even though we have the memory of a rose, it has no meaning since the object itself is gone. He may allude to the girl, the library and also Aristotle's Poetics, now lost forever.

Another clue is given by Umberto Eco in the books post-script, where he indicates that he chose the title "because the rose is a symbolic figure so rich in meanings that by now it hardly has any meaning left". This may refer to the book's conclusion, where Willam sadly admits that he was fruitlessly searching for patterns and a meaning to all the events and mysteries in the monastery. However, they were not there; the overall plot was a succession of isolated actions, mistakes and coincidences which he happened to unravel. So the title could also be symbolic for a futile quest for meaning and finality.

'Penitenziagite', the word used and repeated by Salvatore, is short for "Poenitentiam agite, appropinquavit enim regnum caelorum". It is Latin for "Do penance, for the Kingdom of Heaven is near". As William explains, it was the rallying cry for the Dolcinites, a religious sect notorious for murdering wealthy priests and bishops who, in their eyes, corrupted the Christian principles of poverty that all clergymen should adhere to.