The Alchemical Door of Verona
Hi, it’s Katrina, the alchemical door of Rivo Deutri and the small Italian Village of rivodutri.
Most of everything was destroyed in a devastating earthquake that took place in 1948, but there was one curious architectural element that remained standing when everything else was shattered.
It’s called the alchemical door, and it’s nothing short of bizarre.
The portal- because that’s really what it looks like these days- was originally located in the Kamichioti Palazzo, but now stands guard in front of a small Memorial Park.
It was created in the 17th century with one side of the door decorated in strange carvings and symbols that are supposed to represent the idea of the great transmutation.
If you’re not sure what transmutation is, let me quickly explain.
Ancient Alchemists believed one material could be transmuted or changed into a different material, usually worthless metal, into precious gold.
Alchemists were convinced that if they had the right formula, they could transform any ordinary metal into gold and therefore get stinking rich.
But instead of displaying the formula for how to turn metal into gold, experts believe this doorway was decorated with symbols meant to represent the transmutation of the Soul into a state of awareness.
It’s all quite confusing, especially when you look at the actual symbols that are on the door.
There are pagan symbols, Christian symbols, kabbalistic and alchemical symbols, all of them arranged in such a way that Scholars have never been able to decode it.
Nobody knows if the door is supposed to be read from the bottom or the top.
All we really know is that the 17th century was a time when the nobility of Europe were deeply involved with alchemical practices.
It was a weird merger between science and magic, secrets of biology and esoteric knowledge.
The alchemical doorway of rivodutri is one of the very last pieces of this mysterious time in history Still Standing.
The fairy door.
The Fairy Door
Ben Baldwin is a fascinating place in Ireland.
It’s a rock formation shaped like a jaw in Counties Legal.
It’s a massive piece of rock that was formed during the Ice Age by moving glaciers and almost looks like a wave of limestone and mudstone, and because of its unique appearance it has been the site of a lot of Irish myths.
One of the Legends has something to do with a fairy door.
Most people probably don’t believe in fairies these days, but until recently the Irish certainly did.
Not only did they believe that fairies were real, but they also believed that there was one place to see them in the human realm, at Ben Baldwin.
It was here where the Irish said there was a literal fairy door- a huge black Scorch mark on the Northern face of the rock formation that looks exactly like a door.
It was said the fairy door would open on occasion and that fairies would slip out into the human world to frolic before going back through the door and closing it behind them.
It was very similar to the beliefs the Irish had about the sawin festival or maybe the original Halloween.
There were certain times in certain places in Ireland where the doorways between the worlds would open and humans could interact with Spirits.
At Ben Baldwin, they will believe, there was a door that allowed them to interact with fairies.
Any Irish people out there please let us know if this is true.
