La Malta dei Papi

Mysterious in its creation, located under Mount Tabor, the highest point of the island, cited by Dante Alighieri as a life-prison. Malta dei Papi is a deep tunnel dug into the tuff at the end of which there is an underground chamber of about 6 meters built around a well, and above which there is a circular opening used to collect water. The waterproof plaster found on its inside walls reveal that the structure was used as a cistern in Roman Times. However, its origin is probably much older than that and linked to the volcanic thermal waters that flow underneath. This would give to the Malta a renewed sacredness: an underground womb where rituals of birth and fertility were celebrated in honour of a Great Mother.

Forgotten after being turned for a long time into a stage of atrocities as a prison for heretics, this chamber became subject of occultist conversation in the late 19th century in Madame Blavatsky’s theosophic society, who considered this place to be one of the secret entrances to the underground kingdom of Agarthi, “the Inaccessible”.

Through the elements of water, fire, earth and air, this tour will awaken the memory of an ancient knowledge that came from the observation of the sky and the listening of the earth, which through its beating heart marked the cyclical passing of time. Our modern-world idea of progress has weakened our ability to listen and as a result the pulsation of the planet is slowly fading out; its water springs are drying up and pollution is taking over. Humanity is at a crossroads. Is it possible to look back in order to move forward? To look inside in order to rebehold the stars? What do places like Malta teach us? Will our hearts ever return beating again with the heart of the earth?