All my Books in Italian — Novels, Short Stories, Historical Fencing and More. Some of them soon in English too…
Marco Rubboli has devoted decades to European historical martial arts — including medieval and Renaissance fencing, Greek boxing, pankration, gladiatorial combat, Spanish navaja fencing and stage combat (which he teaches at the Bernstein School of Musical Theater in Bologna). With numerous national competitive titles to his name, he is a master of both historical and artistic fencing. He founded what is today one of Europe’s largest HEMA schools, Sala d’Arme A. Marozzo.
The CROWN OF STEEL Saga
Main Novels
- Per la Corona d’Acciaio (For the Crown of Steeel)— In a realm torn by war and political intrigue, Vindice Maravoy must rise beyond destiny and legacy to defend the land of Malia and claim a crown lost to fate.
- Contro Due Imperi (Against Two Empires) — New dangers and unrelenting enemies test Vindice and his allies as ancient rivalries threaten to plunge the world into deeper chaos.
- Il Sentiero del Lupo (The Path of the Wolf) — With empire and rebellion locked in brutal conflict, Vindice’s journey leads him into the heart of the wilderness, where only the fiercest spirit can endure.
Short Novels
- Gli ultimi eroi dell’arena (The Last Heroes of the Arena) — Set seven centuries before the Crown of Steel saga, this novella follows gladiators Glaucus and Felitia as they struggle to survive the collapse of the Mitoien Empire amid love, war and shattered dreams.
- L’ultima guerra di Dama Tai-Pan (The Last War of Lady Tai-Pan) — A spin-off set decades after the civil war, this tale follows Samurai Dayu and the formidable Lady Tai-Pan across a world in turmoil, where honor and strategy shape every clash.
The Cadet of Gascony saga
Il Cadetto di Guascogna (The Cadet of Gascony) is a short dark fantasy saga in which d’Artagnan and the Three Musketeers — the iconic characters created and made famous by Alexandre Dumas — are confronted with the threat of a necromancers’ conspiracy. It includes for the moment three short novels: Il contagio di Meung (The Plague of Meung), L’inferno sotto Parigi (Hell Beneath Paris) and La donna che tornò dalla morte (The Woman Who Returned from Death)
The Black Pretorians saga
In the fifteenth century of an alternate world, the Roman Empire has ever continued to expand, yet for centuries it has been forced to fight against the Children of Darkness: vampires, necromancers, black mages and other monstrous beings, who use magic to gain superhuman powers. The Black Praetorians have only weapons, training, and courage to stand against the lurking Evil. They are the blade that shines in the darkness, the guardians of the gates of Hell, the left hand of the Emperor. The saga currently consists of two short novels: Ombre sulla Dacia (Shadows over Dacia) and Seta macchiata di sangue (Silk Stained with Blood), along with numerous short stories.
Other short novels
– La danza pietrificata (The Petrified Dance). Only a daring course of action can finally unravel the dark mysteries hanging over a small medieval town in the heart of Italy and the castle that looms above it. Yet uncovering certain truths may prove extremely dangerous. A perilous historical investigation into a medieval mystery, set in the 1920s.
– La Signora delle Caverne (The Lady of the Caves). A young Italian couple on holiday in Crete. A girl who vanishes without a trace on a beach at sunset. A young man who refuses to give up. From this point on, the bloodiest roots of classical myth are unearthed and reimagined through a weird lens, as an absolute horror from which even the celestial gods themselves are born.
Anthology Contributions
My short stories also appear in numerous Italian collections and magazines, spanning genres from historical to fantasy, sci-fi and horror.
Fantasy Non-Fiction
– Guerra nella Terra di Mezzo – Battaglie, duelli, stratagemmi e potere nelle opere di J. R. R. Tolkien (War in Middle-earth – Battles, Duels, Strategy and Power in the Works of J. R. R. Tolkien) All the conflicts and battles of Arda since its creation — from individual duels to great wars — from The Silmarillion to The Lord of the Rings, examined through the lens of fencing, tactics, and military strategy.
– Il Grimorio degli Stregoni (The Grimoire of the Sorcerers) A mysterious manuscript brings together the spellbooks of two fifteenth-century magicians. The Witch of the Forest describes a wide range of magical practices, while a misterious knight — secretly a Druid-Sorcerer — introduces the esoteric use of body and sword and the art of communicating with nature spirits and the vegetal world.
Historical Fencing and Martial Arts
I have contributed to or edited a wide range of works on European martial arts history starting from 1994, including:
- Italian historical fencing manuals and treatises, both Medieval and Renaissance, some of them published for the first time
- Comparative complete studies on the techniques of several Renaissance combat weapon
- Training texts rooted in the tradition of the Bolognese school
- Stage Combat
- XIX century Spanish navaja
- Prefaces in Other Authors’ Books Articles in HEMA Anthologies and Conference Proceedings These volumes are invaluable resources for both scholars and practitioners of Historical European Martial Arts (HEMA).
Finally, I appear as a character in four Italian novels, historical and Fantasy: “Aulo il Romano” and “Trinax il Trace” by Giuseppe Rudilosso, “Il maestro dei sapori” by Jari Lanzoni and “Lo speziale” by Caterina Franciosi!