Where better to find God than in a garden?

The Racine de Monville Home Page is the world's first web site devoted to the Désert de Retz and its creator, François Racine de Monville (1734-1797).

Discover Monville's adventurous life, view photographs and a map of his remarkable folly garden, and learn more about France and gardens.

What is the Désert de Retz?

• The Desert de Retz was officially reopened to the public on June 13, 2009.
• You know about Google, but have you heard about the newest search engine called Wolfram Alpha? Learn more and test it now!
• View eighteen excellent color photographs of the Desert de Retz taken between January 2007 and November 2008 by a Paris-based teacher.
• Read The Broken Column and its Deeper Meaning, a Masonic interpretation of the broken column.
• Ever hear of a charitable search engine? An ethical search engine? It's the new trend in web search. Ethicle.com plants a tree for every 100 searches.
• Admire four great photographs of the Desert de Retz taken in October 2008 by Gerard Peet.
• U.S., South Korean ambassadors visit the Desert de Retz
• Read recent articles about European folly gardens with specific reference to the Desert de Retz in the Financial Times and the Russian journal Vedomosti
• A twenty-first century Desert de Retz? In England? Learn more about Alnwick Garden
• The Desert de Retz has been acquired by the town of Chambourcy.
• The Desert de Retz is above ground, but underground is the strange and mysterious Aqueduc de Retz.
  On connaît le Désert de Retz. Mais il y a l'Aqueduc de Retz, insolite et souterrain.
• Watch a video of the Desert de Retz from the archives of the Institut National de l'Audiovisuel (INA).
• Who owns the Desert de Retz? Who owned the Desert de Retz?
• Monsieur de Monville's Column House selected as one of the world's Top 7 Weirdest Houses!
• Landscape artist Alexander Trevi has posted some photographs and observations about the Desert de Retz on his blog, Pruned.
• Explore the Désert de Retz with an interactive map.
• An English Monville? Learn more about John "Mad Jack" Fuller and his follies.
• Although the Desert de Retz is currently not open to the public, you can visit these seven great folly gardens in and around Paris!
• View eleven color photographs of the Desert de Retz taken in August 2003 and July 2004 by Canadian Artist-Photographer Katy McCormick.
• View a watercolor of Monsieur de Monville's Column House by Mexican surrealist painter, Alfredo Castañeda.
• Buy Diana Ketcham's great book about the Desert de Retz for as low as $16.81!
• Read an exclusive, first-hand account of a visit to the Désert de Retz in 1952.
• Enoch Robinson, an American Monville?
• Did Monsieur de Monville's Column House portend the French Revolution?
• French is the only language spoken in France. Not. Ever hear of a language called Welche that has nothing to do with Wales?
• How many kisses? Check out the French Kissing Map.
• Now you can throw your Bescherelle in the trash can!
• What's today's date on the French Revolutionary Calendar? What's the decimal time on the Metric Clock?
• Visiter Le Jardin des Jouet, un site plein de surprises pour les amateurs des jardins.
• What's the most romantic place in Paris? The Mur des je t'aime.
• Test drive AnswerBus, the Internet's best search engine.
• A fantastic new search engine called WorldCat lets you search for any book by title, subject or author and then locate it in a library near you. Check out WorldCat on the Search page.
• Jardinons à l'école, un site à découvrir sur la page Gardens.
• Consult an interactive map of France.
• Sightsee in Paris without leaving your home.