Damanhur: where spirtuality and art meet on retreat in Italy

September 9, 3:00 PMSF Global Getaways ExaminerLisa Alpine

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Rejuvenation can be found at the Federation of Damanhur, a spiritual art community dedicated as a "laboratory for the future of humanity". It is in the northern foothills near Turin where I spent four days during my last trip to Italy.  Guests interested in spiritual renewal come to visit for 1/2 day to a week and include many famous folks like Sting and Julia Butterfly Hill.

What drew me to stay at Damanhur were stories of an underground Temple of Humankind  carved by hand out of the rock. Rich in mosaics, glass, painting and sculpture, with the largest Tiffany cupola in the world, it's the result of over thirty years of work, begun in secret and revealed to the public in 1991. But what is most interesting is how a large, cohesive community has sprung from this work.

Founded in 1977, Damanhur has a “Federation of Communities and Regions” with over 900 citizens, a social and political structure, a constitution, 40 economic activities, its own currency, schools and a daily paper. They offer accommodations, restaurants, tours, and classes to visitors.

On short notice, I arranged my stay and they picked me up at the nearby train station. I had to practice patience at the office when I checked in. Italians are much more gracious than Americans. They kiss one another and say hello and catch up about their lives – all while you wait for your room key.

I waited and waited but finally got acknowledged and told that if I wanted, I could join a group from England that was about to leave on a tour of the Egyptian Museum in Turin. I grabbed my camera and was whisked into the bus by a very nice Damanhurian man who spoke excellent English. The bus was full of chattering women with thick British accents. I said hello and that I was from California. They answered back in jolly unison, “We are psychics from England.”

They absolutely adored that I was from San Francisco. Suddenly the entire tone of my solo vacation switched channels. I was on a tour without even planning to be, but these dear, slightly frumpy women were so warm and welcoming –sharing their biscuits and stories with me – that I accepted my fate. I had been adopted by a gaggle of British housewives gone New Age.

One hour later, we were marching up the steps of the museum. It has the second largest Egyptian collection in the world, which surprised me. In the 1800s the Italians were leading the pack in archeological digs in Egypt funded by the Dukes of Savoy, whose home was Turin.

I had visited the Egyptian Museum in Cairo twice so I was not wowed by the collection. What was beyond my expectations—and tied into the mysteries of Damanhur—was that the museum directors had been collecting a particular Egyptian statue—the lion-headed goddess Sekhmet. They wanted her so much they had traded the REAL Rosetta Stone to the British Museum for 13 statues of Sekhmet. The Rosetta Stone is the key to translating the hieroglyphs and one of the most important pieces in Egyptian history. They also traded with Egypt a life-size gold statue of Horus, one of the top dudes in the pantheon of Egyptian gods, for a dozen more Sekhmets.

Why exchange such valuable pieces for this lesser goddess? Because they believe she holds the memory of past lives. They have created a special room called the Hall of Memory. Over 24 Sekhmets line the walls. Arrows on the floor point the direction one is to walk in order to pass by each statue. There is a sign asking people not to talk. Our guide instructed us to walk slowly, stop, and gaze into the face of each statue and that there might be the possibility that memory of our past lives would awaken during this meditational focus. We spent an hour slowly circling the hall looking into the stoic faces of Sekhmet. It was quite relaxing and a wonderful way to interact with antiquities. I did not have any memories strike, but I did get the urge to eat pizza.

Is it not unusual for museum directors to be into the esoteric arts and rituals? Yes, but not in Turin. Considered one of the top black arts capitols in Europe along with London and Prague, there are more tarot readers, palmists and alchemists here than any other region in Italy.

As he talked, our guide leaned against the statues as if they were old friends. He explained, “From a magician’s point of view, Turin is a magic reference point in the world. White and black magic are both strong here. It is a chessboard. Crossed by synchronic lines that also pass across Stonehenge and Giza and are linked to Tibet and Easter Island. Four lines directly cross Damanhur. They are linked at the Temple of Humankind.”

Most of the Damanhurians I met, including our guide, have been there since the founding of the community over 30 years ago. Many visitors come here to see the temple, have a healthy retreat, or to research how they have built the community. One morning I met a woman from California who had just had a past-life reading and was told she had been a courtesan in Venice. Synchronistically, that was the next stop on her trip.

Along with massages and esoteric readings, Damanhurians offer many classes, art lectures and activities including horseback riding, and much more. The Alps are less than an hour away and there are lakes nearby and wonderful hikes, one of which follows an ancient Celtic trail still showing many carved symbols on the standing stones all the way up the mountain.

Other guests included the British psychics who were on a sort of spiritual holiday, an Israeli family who wanted a cheap place to stay for a few days, a spiritual guru and her acolytes, various individuals taking classes, and me.

After the Brits wore me out running about Turin shopping and eating that pizza I craved, I treated myself to a massage and then finally settled into my dorm room and slept like a mummy. The comfortable room was decorated in pastels and was very clean.

The next day, I joined my psychic buddies for a sacred dance class outdoors in the Grecian style open temple amphitheater. I felt a kindred spirit with Isadora Duncan as we danced among the columns. On the third day, we were given a tour of the Temple of Humankind after we had walked the labyrinths laid out in stone on a hillside to “align our energies.”

The temple tour is considered an initiating journey, the ritualized reproduction of the inner rooms of every human being. Entry to the temple is a simple wooden door that leads into a labyrinth of passages and seven enormous chambers, totaling 4,000 cubic meters on five levels.

It was built in secret by hand until 1991 when the government was tipped off that the residents of Damanhur were building an enormous underground structure. "They did not know where it was," our guide told us, "but they knew it was in this hill, so they threatened to just start bulldozing. We had to give in. The officials then ordered us to destroy the temple, so Damanhur alerted the newspapers, and the television, and the Italian arts community came to action. How could Italy, a country that celebrates art, halt the construction of the eighth wonder of the world?” he asked.

I admit I was stunned by the artwork. The temple is probably the most amazing man-made structure dedicated to art and spirituality I have ever seen. When the tour was over four hours later and the elevator doors opened to the fading afternoon light on the surface, I felt as if I was on another planet. Damanhur turned out to offer an offbeat oasis of spiritually artistic inspiration, that was rejuvenating and affordable!

Details, details . . .

The Federation of Damanhur offers ½ day to 7 day programs for very reasonable rates. It is located in the hills of the province of Piedmont right at the border of Valle D’Aosta, the northernmost province of Italy on the French border where Fontina cheese is made. Turin (TRN) is the closest airport, situated about 45 minutes by car from Damanhur. They will provide transportation to and from Torino's and/or Milano's airports only for groups or for those individuals who are participating in the 3 or 7 day programs. You can also take the train to Ivrea and a taxi to Damanhur.

Story by Lisa Alpine