To lose your way, to lose yourself in the possibility of finding it again, to caress your thoughts surrounded by nature that never tires. These are the sensations you can experience by going to the Masone Labyrinthone of the largest labyrinths in the world, designed entirely with bamboo plants and created by Franco Maria Ricci in Fontanelleto, in the province of Parma.
The Masone Labyrinth: how it is structured
It is the largest labyrinth that has ever existed, consisting of some 200,000 bamboo plants, between 30 centimetres and 15 metres high, along a 3-kilometre route.
"On the land that had nourished, and somewhat enriched, my family, I wanted to leave a trace of myself.
With the passage of time, that primitive idea has largely been transformed. Perhaps it is the fault of age, but I now see the Labirinto above all as a way of giving back to a strip of the Po Valley that includes Parma, its countryside and neighbouring towns, at least a part of the much it has given me', these are the words with which Franco Maria Ricci describes the project and describes himself on the Labirinto's official website.
The area of the Labyrinth complex is about 8 hectares and next to it are a Museum, a Library dedicated to the most illustrious examples of typography and graphics, cultural spaces for temporary exhibitions covering about 5000 square metres and an Archive. There are also tourist facilities, including a ballroom and a chapel where you can get married. The labyrinth has been included in the circuit of the castles of the 
Duchy of Parma and Piacenza.
Franco Maria Ricci, the owner of the Masone, is almost 80 years old and the dreamy spirit of a child emerges from his words. In an interview with the Huffingtonpost stated: 'Do you know why I chose bamboo? Because if I had done it with boxwood I would have had to wait 20 years to see it completed. And I don't have that kind of time. It's difficult, you have to endure to realise a dream."
A path in which to wander and lose oneself and then find oneself again, to fantasise and reflect. To dream. To live.
[Photo francomariaricci.it].
