Franco Maria Ricci Turns 80: Documentary Premiere at Labirinto della Masone

Franco Maria Ricci, the Italian publisher, collector, and creator of the world's largest labyrinth, celebrated his 80th birthday on December 2017. The team of the Labirinto della Masone in Fontanellato (Parma) organized the premiere screening of the documentary "Éphémère. La Bellezza inevitabile," directed by Simone Marcelli, Barbara Ainis, and Fabio Ferri, produced by CatrinaProducciones. The film traces Ricci's life from his early car races to the founding of his publishing house in 1963 with the anastatic reprint of Gian Battista Bodoni's "Manuale Tipografico," and the creation of the bamboo labyrinth inspired by a promise to Jorge Luis Borges in 1977. Friends such as Vittorio Sgarbi and Mario Lanfranchi paid homage. Ricci's wife Laura Casalis noted they never took a vacation in nearly 40 years together, only work trips. The documentary also features intellectuals like Inge Feltrinelli, Italo Calvino, Guy Cogeval, Bernardo Bertolucci, and Tullio Pericoli. Ricci regained the right to use his name as an editorial trademark in 2014 after a decade-long legal dispute. New publications include "Mantova, utopia classica" and a forthcoming book with Luigi Serafini. The film hints at a future mirror labyrinth project designed by Catalan architect Oscar Tusquéz.