Ever since learning about Alex Grey’s magical art and his appreciation for Damanhur I became obsessed with the idea of one day visiting. Well, on my recent tour of Europe I got to do just that. It was only for the day, but it was every bit as magical as I imagined.
Photo credit: http://www.damanhur.org/
October 13 – I spent the day at Damanhur on Saturday and I can honestly say it was amazing! Damanhur is an Egyptian word for “City of Light”. Founded in 1975, the Federation has about 1,000 citizens and extends over 500 hectares of territory throughout Valchiusella and the Alto Canavese area in Italy, at the foothills of the Piedmont Alps. Damanhur offers courses and events all year round, and it is possible to visit for short periods as well as longer stays for study, vacation or regeneration. Damanhur promotes a culture of peace and equitable development through solidarity, volunteerism, respect for the environment, art, and social and political engagements
Photo credit: http://www.damanhur.org/
They started digging out the mountain in 1978, removing 8000 cubic meters of mountain granite, equating to over 2 MILLION buckets of rock! When you walk through these temples, you feel like you are being embraced by Mother Gaia. But that is not all, they have decorated these temple rooms with absolutely amazing art, including stain glass, paintings depicting the history of the world, sculptures, crystal, mirrors, metals, and lighting. Many of the floors have detailed images of animals, plant life, people or gods, using tile pieces no bigger than a small fingernail. We are talking about hundreds of millions of tiles to create these images! The level of devotion to building these temple is mind-boggling. They are truly inspired people of the highest order. They love what they do, they feel it is important to teach the world about the sanctity of life, nature, and spiritual equality. What they are building will last for generations. And even though what they have done thus far is astonishing, apparently, they are only 15% into completing the project.
If you ever visit Italy, YOU HAVE to visit Damanhur. I was not allowed to take photos of our visit inside the temples, but I did take some photos of the grounds and the visitor center. I will post soon.
Damanhur, os templos da humanidade
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