The BBC flew a crew to Valchiusella. Atlas Obscura added Damanhur to its 100 Wonders. National Geographic Channel's cameras rolled inside the Sacred Woods. This is what they found.
BBC REEL · PUBLISHED JULY 27, 2023 · RUNTIME 5:17
The BBC Reel documentary team, led by journalist Valerio Maggio, produced a 5-minute feature that became one of the BBC's most-shared Reel stories of 2023. The piece focused on the extraordinary scale and artistry of the Temples, placing them in the context of the community's 50-year history.
The BBC's coverage was notable for its tone: neither credulous nor dismissive, the piece presented Damanhur as a genuine human achievement worth serious attention. Maggio's reporting included interviews with community members, footage inside the Temples, and context from architectural historians.
"You might not believe in what Damanhur believes in. But you cannot stand in these chambers and not be moved by what human beings, working by hand, have created here."
— Valerio Maggio, BBC ReelATLAS OBSCURA · 100 WONDERS SERIES
Atlas Obscura's 100 Wonders project is an ongoing documentary series identifying the most extraordinary and unusual places on Earth. Damanhur's inclusion alongside sites like the Cave of Crystals in Mexico, the Door to Hell in Turkmenistan, and the Naica Cave was a significant recognition of the Temples' unique status.
The Atlas Obscura piece focused on the "hidden wonder" aspect — the fact that this extraordinary complex was built secretly, by hand, over 14 years, beneath an ordinary Italian hillside. The episode generated significant traffic to Damanhur's website and contributed to a marked increase in international visitor bookings in the years following its release.
Atlas Obscura describes Damanhur as "one of the great hidden wonders of the modern world — a monument to what human beings are capable of when they commit to something with genuine devotion."
Read on Atlas Obscura →GEOGRAPHICS · HISTORICAL & ARCHITECTURAL DOCUMENTARY
Geographics is a documentary channel known for its serious, well-researched approach to historical and architectural subjects. Their coverage of the Temples of Humankind represents one of the most thorough English-language documentary treatments of the subject available.
The Geographics documentary covers the full history of the Temples: the founding of Damanhur in 1975, the beginning of secret excavation in 1978, the discovery by Italian authorities in 1992, the legal battles that followed, and the current state of the Temples as a major spiritual tourism destination.
The documentary is particularly valuable for its architectural analysis — providing context from architectural historians on the technical achievements involved in hand-excavating these chambers from solid granite while maintaining structural stability over decades.
Geographics Channel →ENDEVR DOCUMENTARY · MULTIPLE PERSPECTIVES
ENDEVR is a documentary platform known for presenting balanced perspectives on complex social and cultural phenomena. Their Damanhur documentary is notable for its willingness to include critical viewpoints alongside Damanhurian voices — making it perhaps the most intellectually honest piece of external coverage available.
The documentary addresses directly the question that many people ask when they first encounter Damanhur: is this a cult? The ENDEVR team investigated this question seriously — speaking with former members who had negative experiences, with cult experts who provided analytical frameworks, and with current community members who responded to the concerns raised.
We at Damanhur welcome this kind of inquiry and are glad this documentary exists. People considering deeper involvement with the community deserve access to honest, multi-perspective information — and the ENDEVR piece provides that in a way that the more celebratory coverage does not. Watch it. Ask the questions it raises. We are happy to address any of them.
ENDEVR Channel →Damanhur's official YouTube channel offers extensive footage of the Temples, Sacred Woods, ceremonies, and community life — produced by community members for those who want to see Damanhur through its own eyes, not only through external cameras.
The most-viewed official Damanhur video — a guided visual tour of all nine halls of the Temples of Humankind, produced by the community's own film team.
Watch on YouTube →Live recordings of the Music of Plants concerts from the Sacred Woods — the extraordinary sound art created by connecting living plants to biosensors and synthesizers.
Watch on YouTube →Archival footage of Falco Tarassaco's public lectures on Damanhurian philosophy — the synchronic lines, multiple souls theory, art as spiritual technology.
Watch on YouTube →Over five decades, Damanhur has been covered by media ranging from tabloids to academic journals. Here is a representative selection.
One of the earliest major British press pieces on Damanhur, running in the year the Temples began receiving significant international media attention. The Daily Mail's coverage — characteristically sensationalist in headline, more measured in content — introduced the Temples to a mass British readership.
National Geographic Channel's series on alternative communities and extraordinary human projects included a full episode on Damanhur. McMullen's approach was sympathetic and curious — the episode focused on the human story of the community as much as the architectural achievement of the Temples.
Italian national newspapers have covered Damanhur extensively since the dramatic discovery of the Temples in 1992. Coverage has ranged from skeptical to celebratory — with La Stampa and Corriere della Sera both publishing multiple long-form features on the community over the decades.
Nova Religio: The Journal of Alternative and Emergent Religions (UC Press) has published peer-reviewed academic studies of Damanhur as a new religious movement. Acta Ethnographica Hungarica has published ethnographic research on the community's social organization. Both represent serious academic engagement with Damanhur as a significant contemporary phenomenon.
Journalists, documentary filmmakers, photographers, and academic researchers are welcome to request media access to Damanhur. All media requests are handled through the Welcome Centre and require advance notice of at least 3 weeks for day visits and 6 weeks for extended filming projects.
Send your request to welcome@dhwelcome.org with the subject line "Media Request" and include: your name and outlet, the nature of your project, your proposed dates, what you would like to film or photograph, and any previous work we can review.
We respond to all media requests within 10 working days and are generally open to coverage that approaches the community with genuine curiosity and journalistic integrity — including coverage that asks critical questions.
Photography in the Sacred Woods, the Welcome Centre, public community spaces, and all outdoor areas. Photography in approved areas of the Temples with explicit written permission.
Photography inside the Temples without prior written approval. Photography of community members without individual consent. Photography of children. Photography in private residential areas of the nuclei.
The Temples' interiors are extraordinarily difficult to photograph well — the lighting, scale, and complexity defeat most cameras. We have a library of professional photography available for media use with appropriate credit and context.
Every filmmaker who has visited Damanhur has said the same thing: the Temples are impossible to capture on camera. The only way to fully understand what is here is to come.
Reserve your experience at the Federation of Damanhur
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