The Labyrinth of the Masone opens for the first time the garden where it all began

The Masone Labyrinth returns for its eighth edition to host Under the Bamboo Tree, the annual event entirely dedicated to bamboo. For two full days, Saturday, October 14 and Sunday, October 15, 2023, the world’s largest labyrinth will celebrate the plant that makes it up. And on the occasion of the event, a second park, now home to the Franco Maria Ricci Foundation, will open to the public for the first time to reveal the place where the dream of the Labyrinth of the Masone began. This green space, usually closed to the public and accessed through a small gallery made of bamboo, in fact hosted the meetings between Franco Maria Ricci and Jorge Luis Borges. Indeed, it is here that, in 1977, during one of their usual walks, Ricci promised the Argentine writer that he would create the world’s largest labyrinth. And it is here that the first major lush planting undertaken by Franco Maria Ricci with bamboo is located. The many species of bamboo in this area of the park, more domesticated in some places and wilder in others, make this garden a true botanical treasure.

For Franco Maria Ricci, the Labyrinth was his personal folie, to be understood as the place that in the eighteenth century represented the country estate destined for lavish parties and gatherings, to embellish which the lords often ruined themselves to the ground. This passion originated from three different loves: the first is that for his land, Parma and Emilia, to which he wished to leave and dedicate such an extraordinary monument; the second is that for labyrinths, a passion rekindled thanks to the Argentine writer Jorge Luis Borges; and finally, the falling in love with bamboo, a plant that he adored throughout his mature life and that was also present in the garden of his house in Milan.

On the occasion of Under The Bamboo Tree 2023, there will also be a large ephemeral garden set up in the pyramid courtyard by Vivai Michelucci, a Pistoia-based company specializing in the production and cultivation of bamboo and perennial grasses. Inside the labyrinth, it will then be possible to stop and rest under the large bamboo structure designed and built in a sustainable and environmentally friendly way by the Arundo Art collective.

Participation in the Under the bamboo tree event is included in the Masone Labyrinth daily ticket. Reservations for admission are recommended at www.labirintodifrancomariaricci.it

The Labyrinth of the Masone opens for the first time the garden where it all began

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