**The Federation of Damanhur, or simply Damanhur, is an underground eco-community based about 30 miles north of the city of Turin at the foothills of the Alps.** Founded by Oberto Airaudi, or Falco Tarassaco to followers (Falcon), the appeal of this community can be found in their values of solidarity, spirituality, and sharing; it is a place to build a new way of life, not a place of transit. In a documentary titled *Damanhur: Selfic Laboratory for Future of Humanity*, Airaudi voiced that he wanted to prove that a small group could do things that governments could no longer do. It all began as a small social experiment in the 1970s. Without a building permit or any precedent on how to obtain one, the group of believers decided to make their ideas a solid reality and have since spanned into a system of underground temples which they maintained in secrecy for years. Despite an initial clash with Italian police once discovered, members of Damanhur were eventually given permission to expand. Though there is much controversy surrounding the federation today, most famously by a former member detailing its possible dangers on WordPress, Atlas Obscura’s video focuses on how the people of Damanhur were able to build the impressive Temples of Humanity with simple tools.
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