Desert de Retz: the bizarre world of Francois de Monville (14 photos)
François Racine de Monville owned a vast estate on the edge of a forest in the commune of Chambourasi, just 15 kilometers west of Paris. As an 18th-century aristocrat with a solid income from lands in Normandy, he did not have to worry about finances and devoted his free time to exquisite entertainment. 
Monville shone at balls, fenced gracefully, played the flute and harp, and shot a bow no worse than an Indian. But his true talent was revealed in architecture and landscape art.
The Garden of Wonders 
The Ruined Column
In 1774, Monville acquired an estate that he called Désert de Retz — "Desert of Retz." On forty hectares, he erected two dozen follies — bizarre buildings, each of which transported guests to different eras and countries. There was a Chinese pavilion, the ruins of a Gothic church, a half-ruined Greek temple, an Egyptian obelisk, a nomad's tent, and even an ice pyramid. 
But the pearl of the ensemble was the house-column - a building in the form of a fragment of an antique column, inside which a spiral staircase was hidden, leading to five floors of guest quarters. Monville himself preferred a modest Chinese house.
Among the guests of his magical estate were Marie Antoinette, Thomas Jefferson, Emperor Joseph II and the Swedish King Gustav III.
The Decline of a Dreamer and the Rebirth of a Forgotten Masterpiece 
When the Revolution broke out, Monville tried to flee by selling his estate, but changed his mind. In 1794, he was arrested and sentenced to prison. He was released three months later, eight days after Robespierre's execution, but years of fear had undermined his health. Three years later, he was gone. 
After a series of owners, the estate fell into disrepair: the Chinese pavilion disappeared, other buildings collapsed. But in the 1950s, it was rediscovered by the surrealists, led by André Breton. Since the 1980s, restoration has begun: the column house has been restored, and the garden is gradually regaining its former charm.
This corner of fantasy, created by an eccentric aristocrat, still attracts those who seek timeless beauty. 
Ice pyramid, used to store ice in summer 
Temple of God Pana 
Destroyed Gothic church 
Nomads' tent 
