Damanhur

Damanhur is a complex of "temples" built in secret over the past thirty years, undernearth a hill near Turin, Italy. The artwork in them is extraordinary. It seems a little garish, at first, but a closer look also suggests some real talent and a wide variety of techniques.

The artist behind their creation seems a little bit eccentric, seem to follow some sort of New Age type of metaphysical pursuits which seem like so much nonsense to me. But all the same, it's an extraordinary work and I would no more suggest disregarding it than I would suggest disregarding the stunning artwork of a Gothic cathedral or any other kind of religiously-motivated art. And although there is a charismatic leader and some kind of spirituality involved, the proprietors don't seem to be a cult.

Take a moment to browse through the temples' website with illustrations of the temples; it's breathtaking. I was glad to find the link from FARK to the UK Daily Mail article about them; I'd had no idea they were there. Mainly, it's nice to see that this sort of cathedral-building is still going on and the modern world has not ground out the artistic impulse from people.