Federation of Damanhur

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

The Federation Of Damanhur, often called simply Damanhur, is a commune and spiritual community situated in the Piedmont region of northern Italy about 30 miles north of the city of Turin. It is located in the foothills of the Alps in the Valchiusella valley, bordering on the Gran Paradiso National Park. The community has its own constitution and currency, the Credito.

Damanhur is named after the Egyptian city of Damanhur which was the site of a temple dedicated to Horus.

It was founded in 1975 by Oberto Airaudi with around 24 followers and had grown to 800 by the year 2000. The group holds a mix of New Age and neopagan beliefs. They gained fame in 1992 through the disclosure of their secret excavation of an extensive underground temple, the Temples of Humankind which was begun in 1978 under complete secrecy. The Italian authorities ordered the work destroyed because it had been constructed without planning approval This order was subsequently revoked.^{[citation needed]}

Damanhur's supporters claim the growth and activity of the community has revitalized the local area.

The Federation of Damanhur has centers in Italy, Europe, America, and Japan.

[edit] References

Merrifield, Jeff (1998). Damanhur: The Real Dream. London: Thorsons. ISBN 0-7225-3496-5.

Merrifield, Jeff (2006). Damanhur: The Story of the Extraordinary Italian Artistic Community. Santa Cruz: Hanford Mead Publishers. ISBN 1-59275-010-9.