Eighth wonder of the world?

Eighth wonder of the world? The stunning temples secretly carved out below ground by 'paranormal' eccentric

Nestling in the foothills of the Alps in northern Italy, 30 miles from the ancient city of Turin, lies the valley of Valchiusella. Peppered with medieval villages, the hillside scenery is certainly picturesque.

But it is deep underground, buried into the ancient rock, that the region's greatest wonders are concealed.

Here, 100ft down and hidden from public view, lies an astonishing secret - one that has drawn comparisons with the fabled city of Atlantis and has been dubbed 'the Eighth Wonder of the World' by the Italian government.

For weaving their way underneath the hillside are nine ornate temples, on five levels, whose scale and opulence take the breath away.

Constructed like a three-dimensional book, narrating the history of humanity, they are linked by hundreds of metres of richly decorated tunnels and occupy almost 300,000 cubic feet - Big Ben is 15,000 cubic feet.

Few have been granted permission to see these marvels.

Indeed, the Italian government was not even aware of their existence until a few years ago.

But the 'Temples of Damanhur' are not the great legacy of some long-lost civilisation, they are the work of a 57-year-old former insurance broker from northern Italy who, inspired by a childhood vision, began digging into the rock.

It all began in the early Sixties when Oberto Airaudi was aged ten. From an early age, he claims to have experienced visions of what he believed to be a past life, in which there were amazing temples.

Around these he dreamed there lived a highly evolved community who enjoyed an idyllic existence in which all the people worked for the common good.

More bizarrely still, Oberto appeared to have had a supernatural ability: the gift of "remote viewing" - the ability to travel in his mind's eye to describe in detail the contents of any building.

"My goal was to recreate the temples from my visions," he says.

Oberto - who prefers to use the name 'Falco' - began by digging a trial hole under his parent's home to more fully understand the principals of excavation.

But it was only as he began a successful career as an insurance broker that he began to search for his perfect site.

In 1977, he selected a remote hillside where he felt the hard rock would sustain the structures he had in mind.

A house was built on the hillside and Falco moved in with several friends who shared his vision. Using hammers and picks, they began their dig to create the temples of Damanhur - named after the ancient subterranean Egyptian temple meaning City of Light - in August 1978.

As no planning permission had been granted, they decided to share their scheme only with like-minded people.

Volunteers, who flocked from around the world, worked in four-hour shifts for the next 16 years with no formal plans other than Falco's sketches and visions, funding their scheme by setting up small businesses to serve the local community.

By 1991, several of the nine chambers were almost complete with stunning murals, mosaics, statues, secret doors and stained glass windows. But time was running out on the secret.

The first time the police came it was over alleged tax evasion and still the temples lay undiscovered. But a year later the police swooped on the community demanding: "Show us these temples or we will dynamite the entire hillside."

Falco and his colleagues duly complied and opened the secret door to reveal what lay beneath.

Three policemen and the public prosecutor hesitantly entered, but as they stooped down to enter the first temple - named the Hall of the Earth - their jaws dropped.

Inside was a circular chamber measuring 8m in diameter.

A central sculpted column, depicting a three dimensional man and woman, supported a ceiling of intricately painted glass.

The astonished group walked on to find sculpted columns covered with gold leaf, more than 8m high.

Stunned by what they had found, the authorities decided to seize the temples on behalf of the government.

"By the time they had seen all of the chambers, we were told to continue with the artwork, but to cease further building, as we had not been granted planning permission," says Esperide Ananas, who has written a new book called Damanhur, Temples Of Humankind.

Retrospective permission was eventually granted and today the 'Damanhurians' even have their own university, schools, organic supermarkets, vineyards, farms, bakeries and award-winning eco homes.

They do not worship a spiritual leader, though their temples have become the focus for group meditation.

'They are to remind people that we are all capable of much more than we realise and that hidden treasures can be found within every one of us once you know how to access them,' says Falco.

 

Note: Don't miss the amazing photos of this amazing community at the link below. There is much more here than meets the eye!

 

http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-495538/Eighth-wonder-world-The-s...

Bodhi's picture

Thanks for sharing this, Fred! Reminds me of the Wingmakers story. Great pictures at the daily mail, too!
In gratitude and joy,
Bodhi


Hall of Mirrors at Damanhur

Max's picture

Thank you, Fred! This is what is newsworthy to me. What an absolutely fascinating story. I think that is one man I would like to meet. Thank you once again.

JoyAnna's picture

Thanks, Fred, for sharing this story. Somewhere I had read the story before but missed the photos. Truly amazing.
JoyAnna

andrey's picture

This is pretty amazing. Thanks for posting a picture, Bodhi.

Carl-Azcar's picture

Fred,

Thank you for posting this, I saw it myself on the Web recently and it really blew me away

Carl Azcar

penny_stone's picture

Simply stunning! Thanks so much for sharing this with us, Fred!

Love & light,
Penny :-)

fredburks's picture

Thanks for posting that beautiful photo, Bodhi. I don't know how to post photos yet on this forum. If you want to post one or two of the other gorgeous photos of Damenhur, I would love it and suspect others might appreciate it as well. You have a great one!

With sacred love and gratitude flowing,
Fred

onesong's picture

Received in my email today- "Temples of Humankind live on TV this week!" Dear Friends, Just a quick note to let you know that there will be a live television broadcast from the Temples of Humankind, tomorrow, Thursday, January 31st, on ABC's Good Morning America. The show will air two different segments dedicated to Damanhur! If you can watch it, please let us know what you think. Your Damanhur friends +39-0124-512205 http://www.damanhur.org

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fredburks's picture

Yes, Indigo. The thought has crossed my mind that Damanhur could be one of the seven sites mentioned in the WingMakers material. A personal friend of mine who is spiritual and a lot of fun spent six weeks there. Her comment to me was that the people there were too alien. That made me all the more interested! Fascinating stuff!!!

With sacred love flowing,
Fred

peacemkr's picture

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rajawalizion's picture

Thank you Fred to share this astonishing facts... I can see that vision + clear intention + willpower = miracle ! I want to learn more from Falco and see the Damanhur temples if there are chances and access .... WOW!

With Love and Empowerment,
Michael Neo

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