Monte Verita

Monte Verita (Mountain of truth) was found by Ida Hoffman and others in Ascona region of Switzerland in the 1900s. ¹ The community known as the Monte Verita Sanotorium was part of the Swiss Lebensreform or life reform movement at the beginning of the twentieth century. Life in the community followed a naturopathic approach which included vegetarian eating lots of sun exposure, naturism and theosophy. Clothes free sun baths were taken to detoxic the body. A close connection with nature was considered important for healing. Members of the community grew their own fruit and vegetables to support their vegetarian diet. ²

Members of the community came seeking freedom from city dwelling, a healthy respite and relief from the social constraints of the day. Permanent residents at Monte Verita rejected animal products, took regular naked sun baths, did gymnastic exercise without clothing and skinny dipped. The clothing worn was minimal. ³

“Draped in loose flowing garnments and with long hair they worked in the gardens and fields, built spartan timber cabins and found relaxation in dancing and naked bathing, exposing their bodies to light, air, sun and water. Their diet excluded all animal foods and was based entirely on plants, vegetables and fruit. They worshipped nature, preaching its purity and interpreting it symbolically as the ultimate work of art: ‘Parsifal’s meadow,’ ‘The rock of Valkyrie’ and the ‘Harrassprung’ were symbolic names which with time were adopted even by the local population of Ascona who had initially regarded the community with suspicion. ⁴

The community which included theosophists, reformers, anarchists, communists, social democrats, psyco-analysts, literary personalities, writers, poets, and artists; was highly structured at first described by some as a Christian communist community. ⁵Over time the rules against meat consumption and clothing limitations were lifted.⁶

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