The Labirinto della Masone
The largest bamboo maze in the world
In the countryside of Fontanellato, near Parma, the Labirinto della Masone is the largest maze in the world, made entirely of bamboo. It was conceived by Franco Maria Ricci, a refined publisher, designer and art collector, famous for his luxurious art books and for the magazine "FMR", who dreamed of creating a labyrinth after a conversation with his friend, the Argentine writer Jorge Luis Borges, a great lover of labyrinths, who visited him in the 1970s. The project took decades, and the labyrinth was opened to the public in 2015.
It covers about 7 hectares and consists of about 3 kilometres of paths lined with over 200,000 bamboo plants, of different species, up to 15 metres high, which form tall, green and rustling walls, evergreen and growing very fast. The paths, arranged in a star shape inspired by the ancient Roman mosaic labyrinths, contain dead ends, crossroads and bifurcations, and it is easy to get lost, but there are emergency phone numbers along the way. At the centre there is a large square, surrounded by porticoes, and a chapel in the shape of a pyramid, a symbol of faith in the labyrinth of life. The buildings at the entrance house the collection of Franco Maria Ricci, with about 500 works of art from the sixteenth to the twentieth century, among them paintings, sculptures and objects, the library and the archive of his publishing house, a café, a restaurant and a shop.
Tip: allow at least an hour for the maze; it's also beautiful in winter, as bamboo stays green all year round.
Where it is
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