The first issue of
FMR was published in 1982. The title
FMR is made of the initials of the publisher's name and also, when pronounced in French, sounds like , a word with rich connotations that translates as "fleeting" or "transitory". It contained noteworthy
iconological and
art historical studies, illustrated with large photographs and drawings reproduced on a black background. Among FMR's high-profile admirers were
Federico Fellini, who called it the "black pearl", and
Jacqueline Kennedy, who declared that it was "the most beautiful magazine in the world". In December 2002, twenty years after the release of the first issue, Ricci sold the magazine to Marilena Ferrari's company Art'é to focus on his old ambition to build the largest maze in the world, "
Labirinto della Masone", in
Fontanellato. In 2003 art critic and curator Flaminio Gualdoni replaced Ricci as editor of the magazine. In 2007
FMR was augmented by
FMR White, a sister publication devoted to contemporary art. Over the years the two publications featured many notable contributors, including
Alberto Arbasino, Peter Bloch,
Jorge Luis Borges,
Italo Calvino,
Umberto Eco, Giovanni Mariotti,
Octavio Paz, Nicola Spinosa, and
Giovanni Testori. Both
FMR and
FMR White ceased publication in 2009. In 2015, after completing the seven-hectares wide maze also featuring an art museum and a library, Ricci bought back the copyrights of
FMR with the potential intent to resume publication. == Other publications ==