Network of 88 caves and tunnels beneath the medieval city, connected by wells and passages stretching roughly 30 kilometres. Originally created almost 2,000 years ago and reestablished as a Templar stronghold around 1160 A.D.
About This Site
The Grotte Simonetti in Osimo form part of one of the most extensive underground networks in central Italy, comprising 88 caves and tunnels beneath the medieval hilltop city. The system stretches roughly 30 kilometres and was first created almost 2,000 years ago before being reestablished as a Knights Templar stronghold around 1160 A.D. During the 14th century, following the suppression of the order, the caves are believed to have served as a refuge for surviving Templar members. The tunnels contain carved symbols, religious iconography, and markings that have attracted researchers studying the movement and survival of the Templar order after its official dissolution. Professor Fabrizio Bartoli, a historian and modern-day Knight Templar, has studied the cave system extensively.
Connection to Oak Island
In Season 10, the team visited the Grotte Simonetti with Professor Fabrizio Bartoli. Inside the caves, Doug Crowell discovered a large carving similar to one Rick had seen at the Templar prison in Domme, France, in 2017. Alex Lagina found a symbol that had appeared on the H/O stone from Oak Island and was also observed the previous year in Portugal, believed to represent gold. Rick identified a crescent moon motif that had likewise appeared at Domme, in Portugal, and on the Overton Stone found on Oak Island.
The concentration of symbols in Osimo matching those found across multiple Templar sites and on Oak Island artifacts reinforced the theory of a shared symbolic language used by the order across its European network, a language that may also have been employed to mark activity on Oak Island.
Fieldwork Notes
Visited during Season 10 by Rick Lagina, Doug Crowell, Alex Lagina, Peter Fornetti, and Corjan Mol, guided by Professor Fabrizio Bartoli and Emiliano Sacchetti. The team documented carvings matching the Domme prison, H/O stone gold symbol, and crescent moon motifs found at multiple Templar-connected sites and on Oak Island.
