There is an outdoor Catherdral made from living trees located at the foot of Mount Arera which is near Bergamo in northern Italy. This brilliant cathedral is formed by rows upon rows of living trees, the place attracts many visitors of pilgrams, art lovers and those who are spiritual. Named Cattedrale Vegetale (also known as the Tree Cathedral), the outdoor cathedral was created by Italian artist, Giuliano Mauri who is famous for his “natural architecture”.

This outdoor cathedral is a grand sculpture which consists of 42 columns that form a basilica of five aisles. The columns are made from approximately 1,800 fir poles, 600 chestnut branches, and 6,000 meters of hazel branches which are joined together by wood, nails, and string, house 80 hornbeam saplings which will eventually outgrow and decay the supporting columns to create the organic and natural structure of the cathedral.

Giuliano started working on this outdoor cathedral in late 2001. Sadly he passed away in 2009, the cathedral was fully completed in 2010 to serve as a memorial for the artist. This is one of the most beautiful outdoor architectures I have ever seen, I hope to visit this magnificent outdoor cathedral on day! The outdoor cathedral also looks amazing when covered in snow.

Above photo via Virtual Sacred Space

Photo by Giacomo Bianchi/Arte Sella via Inexhibit

Photo via Wikipedia

Photo via Wikipedia

Photo by Aldo Fedele via New York Times

Photo by Jacob Plotkin

Photo via Il Giardino Sfumato

Photo via Il Giardino Sfumato

Photo by Arte Sella

Photo by Pierangelo Zavatarelli

Photo by Ubuntu

Photo by Giacomo Bianchi/Arte Sella via Queste Dolomiti

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