Labirinto della Masone

Spread out over a five thousand square metre area, this eclectic and intriguing art collection reflects the tastes of Franco Maria Ricci. It includes around five hundred pieces covering five centuries of the History of Art, from the Sixteenth to the Twentieth centuries. It ranges from the great sculpture of the Seventeenth century to neoclassical sculpture, period busts of Napoleon juxtaposed with the Vanitas, still life pieces with skulls which are often of a macabre nature, and works by famous artists such as Ligozzi. There is no shortage of Mannerists (Carracci and Cambiaso),or artists linked to the golden age of the duchy of Parma (Boudard, Baldrighi and Ferrari to name a few), not to mention nineteenth-century paintings, amongst which Hayez stands out. Lastly, links with the Twentieth century are documented in works by Wildt, Ligabue and Savinio, combined with elegant pieces from the Art Deco period. The layout is neither the random approach used in picture galleries nor the scientific approach of a Museum. It follows links, and does not refrain from highlighting parallels between the choices of the publisher and those of the collector.

Alongside the museum there is the largest labyrinth in existence. It is entirely made of bamboo plants (numbering around 200 thousand in total) between 30 centimetres and 15 metres in height, and belonging to many species. It is a maze for losing oneself in, for fantasising and reflecting.