Franco Maria Ricci

Ricci is known for having created limited editions honoring particular independent artists, which are characterized by their tinted handmade paper, and black silk-bound hardcovers with silver or gold lettering stamping.

[2] The title FMR is made of the initials of the publisher's name and also, when pronounced in French, sounds like éphémère, a word with rich connotations that translates as "fleeting" or "transitory".

Among FMR's high-profile admirers were Federico Fellini, who called it the "black pearl",[3] and Jacqueline Kennedy, who declared that it was "the most beautiful magazine in the world".

[4] 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 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.