Labyrinths: The Art of the Maze

by Giovanni Mariotti, Giovanni Mariotti (Text), Umberto Eco (Foreword)

In his first book in ten years, Franco Maria Ricci presents a rich and refined collection of photographs celebrating the art and mystery of mazes throughout the ages. Franco Maria Ricci—publisher, art collector, bibliophile, garden designer, visionary—presents this collection of beautiful, haunting photographs chronicling his latest a massive bamboo labyrinth near Fontanellato, Italy, scheduled to open in 2014. Beginning with the Minotaur, labyrinths have transfixed and enchanted us. This book explores labyrinths in every form—drawn graffiti-like on crockery, stamped on coins, traced in manuscript illuminations, carved on cathedral walls, and planted in gardens—and features literary quotations from Herodotus and Pliny to Jorge Luis Borges.

224 pages, Hardcover

First published January 1, 2013

About the author

Traduttore dal francese, è autore di numerosi saggi, racconti e romanzi. Vive a Milano. Ha diretto la Biblioteca blu per l'editore Franco Maria Ricci. È stato tradotto in Francia, Germania, Svezia, Giappone. Collabora alle pagine culturali del Corriere della Sera.

Reviews

[Alex Ramirez · Rating 4 out of 5]

I guess that having the means one can build its own maze. You can have it praised by those who know you, but in the echo what I heard was not Homer’s praise. Beautiful pictures, well researched, and ready to sit on a posh coffee table.