In the northwest of the Italian Alps there is an outstanding creation of contemporary sacred art in a stunning place called Damanhur. That was the name given to a utopian community where a 1970’s group of creative visionaries began excavating caves and creating temples inside a mountain.

We toured the Temples of Humankind including the underground caves, rich in frescos and art-forms such as mosaic and stained glass in a massive honeycomb of psychedelic shrines to all the gods and goddesses.

Next we visited the Sacred Woods of Damanhur which include labyrinths of brightly painted stones in forests of oak, chestnut, walnut and hazelnuts. The fall bounty of nuts and truffles was a big draw for families of wild pigs who wrecked the labyrinthine lines by their foraging and digging.

We are told that the inhabitants of Damanhur have been conducting research on bioelectric systems in plants, trees and flowers. From that research a “new technology” was developed which they contend allows humans to listen to the music that plants and trees make.

On the guided tour of the Sacred Woods electrodes and a device to translate signals from the oak trees were hooked up for our enjoyment.

We sat on moss rocks in the oak forests, with wild pigs furtively moving through the underbrush while being treated to the strange music of the trees.

Traveling south we arrive in Florence, the epicenter of the Renaissance with an abundance of artistic expression at every turn. Some days we walked 8 miles taking in the early autumn leaves, the museums, outdoor fountains built into the mountainside, and the medieval covered bridge lined with shops over the River Arno.

*Ponte Vecchio bridge over the River Arno*

Walking in the outskirts of that beautiful city we found Cedars of Lebanon and Tuscan Cypress shown here with a backdrop of a medieval wall which was the defense barrier of the city state Florence.

Europe through the Eyes of a Tree Nerd Part 3