Oberto Airaudi's Secret Underground Temples

(Above: You'd never guess what lies beneath this house.)

Fifteen years ago, the police showed up at the door of Italian eccentric Oberto Airaudi. They'd heard a rumor that he might be building something beneath his house, and they wanted to see what it was. Airaudi reluctantly guided them to a secret door. When it opened, the police officers could barely believe their eyes. They were standing inside a circular chamber lavishly decorated with carved pillars, mosaic floors, and stunning murals.




As they explored the rest of the subterranean complex, the police discovered nine enormous and opulent rooms, each stranger and more beautiful than the next. Together they compose what's now know as the Temples of Damanhur--and what some people call the "Eighth Wonder of the World."




A former insurance salesman, Airaudi claims he began having visions of the beautiful temples when he was only ten years old. A few decades later, he purchased a house on a remote, rocky hillside and set out to make his visions a reality. With the help of a few volunteers, Airaudi spent more than 16 years secretly burrowing into the mountain. By the time the police arrived one day in the early 1990s, Airaudi and his friends had created the largest underground temple on Earth.

According to Airaudi, "[The temples] are to remind people that we are all capable of much more than we realize and that hidden treasures can be found within every one of us once you know how to access them." I think I like him.




You can read the original London Daily Mail article (and see more amazing pictures) here--or visit the temples by clicking here.