Nestled in the alpine foothills of Piedmont, Italy, Damanhur is a secretive spiritual community of six hundred people who coexist as a religious 'federation.' It was Damanhur's uniqueness that first brought long-term NOWNESS collaborator and filmmaker Ivan Olita to this breathtakingly sublime locale—an allusive commune founded in 1975 by writer and teacher Falco Tarassaco, né Oberto Airaudi (1950-2013).

Based on principles of solidarity, sharing, love, and respect for the environment, Damanhur's crowning jewel is a subterranean temple complex named the Temples of Humanity. Plunging some 30 metres underground, the seven chambers of the temple represent the distinct spiritual worlds of society, the human psyche, planetary contact, and the very earth itself.

These structures—sumptuous, symbolic caves rich with imagery and icons—were built without formal planning permission, leading to a tense standoff with the Italian authorities who—tipped off to the location of the structures by locals—raided the temple in 1991. During the search, a state prosecutor demanded that the temples be revealed, "or we will dynamite the entire hillside." Fortunately, the Italian government eventually granted the community retroactive privileges to build these unparalleled spaces. They remain open to visitors to this day.

Olita, continuing his long-term filmic research into spiritual communities around the world, saw in Damanhur an alternative to more restrictive communes and dogmas; the spiritual path of each member being open, subjective, and—ultimately—an engagement with their own identity. Read our full interview with the globe-trotting director below, and find out more about this community's unique view of the world. The film is the third instalment in Olita's ongoing Faith trilogy, which includes his powerful NOWNESS premiere Contra Daemones. 

'IT'S SURPRISING... ASTONISHING'

An interview with Ivan Olita

How did you first discover Damanhur—and what made you decide to film here specifically? What drew you to it?

I first discovered Damanhur when I was a teenager. I remember a friend of mine telling me about it. At that time, Falco, the founder of the community was still alive and his actions in the community had a lot of media exposure in Italy. We are ruled by the Vatican and everything that is not within the Catholic teachings is deemed somehow heretic. I remember being very curious about this community...Also, I had the interest in shooting a trilogy about faith. I went to Kyoto to document the Tendai Monks that undergo excruciating training to reach enlightenment, in Italy to document the most important exorcist for the Vatican and this seemed to be an interesting final chapter.

What surprised you about Damanhur?

The whole idea of a community for esoteric knowledge in the middle of a tiny Italian village is pretty surprising. Also Damhur is not self contained-- It actually is made of several micro-villages spreads across the valley so, even from a social and architectural perspective is pretty interesting to see how the two integrate... You would expect Damanhur to be absolutely self sufficient and I guess that they are from an academic perspective but there is an inherent 'italianity' in the system that’s inevitable given the dislocated nature of the community. So it’s an interesting patchwork of your casual italian restaurant next to some Damanhurian owned business next to a compound of houses in where to study some esoteric science. Aside from the Damil,the hq of the community you don’t really realize you’re in Damanhur, it feels just being around Italian valleys.The temple (well, countless books have been written about it but regardless) is surprising—astonishing, really.

Did the spirituality of the site influence how you approached the shoot? Did you feel like a participant when you were there, or more of a distant observer—an anthropologist or an acolyte?

I always feel some sort of anthropologist and although I don’t have a systemic approach to my subjects I do have to analyze them to an extent and relate my analysis to other people, other cultures, other subjects... That said I also develop a very strong connection with whoever I shoot with, it is almost a sort of a spell, so I’m always really involved. In this case specifically Celastrina (Rebekka) has my same age and comes from a somewhat similar background. While we were there shooting in the mountains I often times found myself thinking... “What if I decided to just come and live here?”

Would you return to Damanhur, and why?

I would totally return! I'm planning to go there soon. I consider Damanhur a center for human potential development. There is nothing that far out about that.. And they host all kinds of weeklong workshops if you are interested in developing and or studying some alchemy, lucid dreaming or exploration of time and past lives.

You’ve previously shot a film about Catholicism and exorcism, which was premiered on NOWNESS. How does this type of spiritual society differ from the more ancient form of Christianity?

The main difference without entering in details is that Damanhurians don’t follow any kind of dogma, whereas catholicism is a pretty dogmatic religion.The exorcist I met was very enlightened though and he could trace back to the roots of his religious beliefs, he knew the holy writings and with him christianity became more of a metaphysical experience for me. Damnhurians on the contrary believe in personal empowerment, and in the hidden laws of the universe. There is no dogma, it is more about uncovering ancient knowledges and putting them to use.

Based on what you saw and shot, why might people choose to live in Damanhur or, for that matter, any spiritual society outside of normal social structures? Is this a reaction against the cruelties, alienation, and overload of modern society? 

People in Damanhur, as well as in other communities around the world such as Auroville (or to a lighter extent Esalen inCalifornia) are just trying to question the way we can live life. I think these communities are obviously part of the 1960s counterculture but are definitely having a comeback now.

—Interview by Owen Gwynne Vince