A Look Into the Mind of an Autistic Savant: Urville, the Imaginary City

With its population of 12 million, its formidable architecture, and its extensive infrastructure, Urville, the capital of a large island province, is one of Europe's most important cities. If your geographic confidence is beginning to quiver and crumble, you can exhale -- Urville is entirely imaginary.

For the past 20 years, French autistic savant Gilles Trehin has been devising and developing this fanciful megacity, from the remarkable architectural detail to the thoughtful cultural context rooted in real world history, including World War II's impact on the city and how the forces of globalization are changing its fabric. Urville gathers 300 of Trehin's meticulous, obsessive drawings and sets the door ajar to this complex and intricately woven alternate reality, inviting you in. It's part Stephen Wiltshire's panoramas, part Gregory Blackstock's lists, part Jerry's Map -- an utterly original.

At its heart, Urville offers a rare glimpse into the mind of a savant, the artistic equivalent of Daniel Tammet's linguistic and mathematical prowess.

This post also appears on Brain Pickings, an Atlantic partner site.