Désert de Retz
The International Carlo Scarpa Prize for Gardens 1993
Fondazione Benetton Studi Ricerche
Treviso 1993
36 pages
11 illustrations black and white
out of print
Created by Monsieur de Monville between 1774 and 1789, in the heart of a valley surrounded by the Forêt de Marly: an architectural folly of masterly wisdom, including the main house, in the shape of a massive, ruined column, echoing the visionary utopias of Ledoux or Boullée.
Thirty years ago, Olivier Choppin de Janvry found the site in a state of abandon. Though the present state of this magnificent symbiosis of art and nature testifies to the extraordinarily successful efforts he has made to revive the fabric and spirit of the place, the existence of the Désert de Retz is still threatened and offers a disturbing example of how the apparently ‘simple’ task of maintaining a historic garden can turn out to be one of the great challenges facing our age.
Contents
Monique Mosser, Le ragioni del Premio Carlo Scarpa a un luogo e al suo genio
Olivier Choppin de Janvry, Désert de Retz, l’avventura di un ritrovamento
Olivier Choppin de Janvry, Il Désert de Retz oggi e il suo contesto ambientale
Bibliografia
