The labyrinth of the Masone

Not to be missed

Arriving at the center, one finds oneself in a courtyard composed of several buildings, all made with handmade bricks, typical of Parma, to conform to the territory. The element of rupture is given by the shapes, inspired by French utopian architecture. We are in the late 1700s when Boullée designs his huge and unrealizable pyramid with an arched entrance. Let's jump straight to 2015 with Ricci and architect Bontempi scaling back the utopia and moving the entrance arch inside with a hemispherical volume that creates a niche, an apse. A sphere grafted into a pyramid, a sacred space within a Masonic symbol.

A bit of history

Franco Maria Ricci already loved labyrinths as a child. Years later, his friendship with Borges, who was very attached to the labyrinth theme, brought this passion back to light. Years later, the long design phase began, then the realization. A bit like in fairy tales, however, the hero must pay a token to achieve his goal. So it was for Ricci, who, in order to raise the necessary funds for the realization of the labyrinth, was forced to sell his publishing house. Don't worry though, there is no shortage of happy endings: in due course the much-loved FMR is back in the hands of its founder.

Trivia

Not everyone believes that this is the greatest labyrinth in the world. When Ricci confided in Borges about his plan, the latter replied that it was impossible: you cannot build something bigger than the desert, that is a huge labyrinth! Think about it: could you manage not to get lost in the Sahara? So Ricci, who likes to force the impossible into the possible, decided that his would be the world's largest Green Labyrinth. So much for Borges.