On the outskirts of Parma, a city in northern Italy, there is the world’s largest bamboo forest maze, Labirinto della masone.
The owner of the maze is named Franco Maria Ricci. He is 87 years old, but still has a childlike mindset and makes all kinds of jokes: “Do you know why I chose bamboo?” Because if I choose boxwood, I will have to wait for 20 years to complete this maze. I don’t have that much time. “Now my maze is the largest in the world, but you should realize that the Chinese will catch up soon.” At first, I didn’t know what to do. But one day, a kind and learned Japanese gardener suggested that I plant a small bamboo forest there. I decided to plant a bamboo garden on the land around the country house in Fontana Lato. Once again, the experiment proved to be successful. Until then, there was no connection between bamboo and the maze. But one day inspiration suddenly came. Bamboo is the plant that provides the perfect material for construction!
To build the maze, Richie sold his publishing house, spent 10 million euros, dug construction sites, planted bamboo and built houses. Eventually, Della Masone, which is claimed to be the largest maze in Italy, opened its doors to visitors in Parma.
The final completed maze is very complex, covering an area of approximately 8 hectares and with a path length of 3 kilometers. It is the largest existing maze in the world, composed entirely of bamboo plants ranging in height from 30 centimeters to 15 meters (totaling approximately 200,000), including many species. The center is a square surrounded by colonnades. On one side of the square, there is a small pyramid-shaped church where people can hold weddings. In addition, Ricci has built a bookstore, a store selling local products, three restaurants and overnight guest rooms in the surrounding area.
Perhaps you have seen the bird ‘s-eye view of this maze and it doesn’t seem too complicated. If you have such an illusion, it’s because you haven’t experienced it yourself. But if you come here, as you go deeper and deeper, because the density of the bamboo fences increases and they get taller and taller towards the center, not only will your sense of direction be in trouble, but your slightly weaker sense of direction might also take you several hours to circle around. The world’s largest maze is by no means undeserved of its name. Maze enthusiasts and travel lovers mustn’t miss it. It’s definitely worth spending a whole day here!
This post is also available in Afrikaans, Azərbaycan dili, Bahasa Indonesia, Bahasa Melayu, Basa Jawa, Bosanski, Català, Cymraeg, Dansk, Deutsch, Eesti, Español, Esperanto, Euskara, Français, Frysk, Galego, Gàidhlig, Hrvatski, Italiano, Kiswahili, Latviešu valoda, Lietuvių kalba, Magyar, Nederlands, O'zbekcha, Polski, Português, Română, Shqip, Slovenčina, Slovenščina, Suomi, Svenska, Tagalog, Tiếng Việt, Türkçe, Íslenska, Čeština, Ελληνικά, Беларуская мова, Български, Кыргызча, Македонски јазик, Монгол, Русский, Српски језик, Татар теле, Українська, Қазақ тілі, Հայերեն, עברית, ئۇيغۇرچە, اردو, العربية, سنڌي, فارسی, كوردی, پښتو, नेपाली, मराठी, हिन्दी, অসমীয়া, বাংলা, ਪੰਜਾਬੀ, ગુજરાતી, தமிழ், తెలుగు, ಕನ್ನಡ, മലയാളം, සිංහල, ไทย, ພາສາລາວ, ဗမာစာ, ქართული, አማርኛ, ភាសាខ្មែរ, 日本語, 简体中文, 繁体中文 and 한국어.