21/09/2024Discovering labyrinths

Have you ever thought that you could enter a labyrinth not to get lost but to find yourself? Would you be comfortable walking along its tortuous path, or would a sense of uneasiness beset you? At crossroads, would you turn right, even if you’re left-handed? Ultimately, do labyrinths appeal to you or scare you? If you are reading these lines, it means that you are interested and you would like to learn more about this subject!

So you can’t miss the opportunity to explore it together with the greatest Italian connoisseur of the subject: Ettore Selli, the labyrinth hunter! After having travelled the length and breadth of the Peninsula in search of all the existing ones – public and private, known and hidden, perennial or seasonal – he has collected them all in a very rich volume that is both a meticulous census and  a guide, but also a small encyclopedia: Italian Labyrinths – Art, history, landscape and architecture in the mysterious labyrinths of the Peninsula.

The introduction documents the history of the labyrinthine sign, following its fortune through the ages and showing its transformations up to the present day. Over one hundred labyrinths are presented here, all those currently existing in Italy, presented by region, mostly arboreal, but also of other materials. The accurate descriptions that illustrate them comment on their genesis, layout and the place where they stand, with references to art, literature and botany. In addition, they are accompanied by spectacular photographs and geographical coordinates, to give the reader the opportunity to visit them. If, however, you are not able to visit in person, nothing is lost, because through these pages the unquenchable passion of the author will make you experience and savour them as if you were walking through them: a truly unforgettable experience.

Ettore Selli

Ettore Selli was born in 1989 in Bologna, where he completed his classical studies and graduated with honours in Environmental Engineering. His interest in plants and geology that was already in his family’s blood and his love for nature led him to become passionate about the theme of the labyrinth as a teenager. An explorer and popularizer, during his travels he has discovered and visited numerous plant labyrinths, which represent the union of all his passions. From there was born his first book,”Plant Labyrinths” – The Complete Guide to the Green Architecture of the Five Continents (Pendragon, 2020), following which the media called him a “maze hunter”. He was the first to catalogue the world’s nearly 1,000 hedge mazes and proposed a mathematical formula for calculating the difficulty of solving them. Guest of numerous conferences and radio and television programs with contributions on the subject, he has also written articles for Italian and international magazines. As a maze designer he has created several tracks: his most recent work is the Labyrinth of Sunflowers 2023 in Ornago (MB).

Follow him on Instagram: world_maze_project

If you want to know more about Ettore Selli watch the interview on Geo – Rai3!