As part of the Utopie series of events, publisher Franco Maria Ricci and architects Davide Dutto and Pier Carlo Bontempi talked about the genesis of the Labirinto della Masone project and their work for the improvement of the landscape.
“Utopie ' Entrepreneurship and improvement of the Italian landscape” is the name of a series of meetings organised by Fondazione Franco Maria Ricci at Labirinto della Masone in Fontanellato (PR) focusing on the stories of Italian entrepreneurs who have contributed to protection of the landscape and the environment. The theme is also of concern to publisher Franco Maria Ricci, who commissioned the Labirinto della Masone, created in Fontanellato (PR) on the basis of an architectural plan by architect Pier Carlo Bontempi and landscape design by architect Davide Dutto. The Labirinto della Masone was the topic of a discussion held on April 14 with Franco Maria Ricci and architects Pier Carlo Bontempi and Davide Dutto.
The Labyrinth complex covers seven hectares and contains not only the bamboo garden forming the maze itself but a series of buildings for cultural activities, exhibition of Franco Maria Ricci's art collection, a library, and various utility and catering spaces. Architect Bontempi reports that Franco Maria Ricci and Davide Dutto drew their inspiration for the scheme of the labyrinth from two Roman mosaics at the Bardo National Museum in Tunis and the Kunsthistorisches Museum in Vienna, to which he added little traps: junctions and dead-end alleyways inspired by Renaissance labyrinths. The star shape of the complex, a recurrent theme in the history of architecture which may also be seen in Sabbioneta and Palmanova, dates back to Philarete's Treatise on Architecture, while the buildings, with their large inner courtyards with arcades and a big pyramid, evidently draw on the work of Boullée, Ledoux, Lequeu.
(Agnese Bifulco)
Images courtesy of arch. Pier Carlo Bontempi
http://www.piercarlobontempi.it/
http://www.labirintodifrancomariaricci.it/
