Labirinto della Masone

Franco Maria Ricci, a publisher and designer known for finely produced art books, promised Jorge Luis Borges he would build a labyrinth; Borges, who wrote repeatedly about them, encouraged it. Ricci opened the result in 2015 near Fontanellato: about seven hectares planted with some two hundred thousand bamboo plants of twenty species, laid out on a star-shaped plan derived from Roman mosaics, with hedges that grow up to fifteen metres. At the centre is a courtyard with a pyramid-roofed chapel, a museum of Ricci's art collection from the sixteenth to twentieth centuries, and his publishing archive.

What you actually see

• The bamboo maze - seven hectares and 200,000 plants on a star plan.
• The central courtyard - a pyramid-roofed chapel and museum buildings.
• The Ricci collection - art from the 1500s to 1900s in the museum.
• The Borges link - the promise that started the project.

When to go

April to October; bamboo stays green year-round but the site is more pleasant in mild weather. It closes on some weekdays. Allow two hours for maze and museum.

Honest expectations

The maze takes about an hour and can be frustrating in heat with little shade variation. It closes certain weekdays. The museum is a large part of the ticket value.

Nearby

Fontanellato's moated castle is close; Parma lies southeast.