Interesting case of double-layered false nominative determinism. Although foresta in Italian means "forest" and thus the surname would seem eminently plant-based, it actually means "foreigner", which I guess he also ended up being as Italian immigrant in the US. The etymology of forest and foreigner is closely related and means basically just "(from the) outside".
Wow, that's a really sneaky "false friend" in Italian! Especially since it even has the meaning of "forest-related" in other Latinic languages, e.g. in French route forestière = forest road.
I wouldn't call it so much a false friend as forest/foreign (and forfeit and I'm sure a bunch of other words) all coming from the same Latin "foris" root and being semantically related.
In Italian, outside is just "fuori".
You're a foreigner to what you've forfeited in the forest.
Almost all the videos on this channel are fascinating btw. Greenhouses enveloping entire houses/villages[0][1] in northern Europe to earthships[2] to someone growing citrus in Nebraska using trenches[3] to entire villages underground in Australia[4]
If these kinds of videos appeal to you (as they do, me), then you would also like the "Mossy Earth" and "Project Kamp" channels, which document various re-wilding and forest management/alternative housing projects going on in various regions.
Very inspiring to be honest, I find myself looking for tiny home project ideas at least twice a month, alongside the perpetual scouting for cheap land in my neighborhood.
I'd absolutely love to have the opportunity to participate in the construction of underground gardens, if only there were more projects like that out there. It fills all the Uncle Owen / Mos Eisley dreams I've had since 1977. ;)
Anything to escape the concrete jungle rat-on-a-treadmill situation that most of us are in. At least I gave up the car trap .. no more commutes for me ..
One place this reminded me of (which isn't in the "see also" section): https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jameos_del_Agua on Lanzarote (Canary Islands). Both are underground structures inspired by traditional dwellings and take advantage of the cooling effect of underground structures, but Jameos del Agua is much larger and built inside a natural (partly collapsed) lava tube, not excavated. As a bonus, it has an endemic species of cave crab called jameito. Also something for fans of lavish 1960s architecture.
Sure, 4 Ha (10 acres) is an inconsequential corner of a 4,500 Ha farm with rural zoning - no one's going to care if you carve out a few underground spaces and rock wall them entirely and only at risk to yourself.
Community standards kick in once you open such things to the public or move to sale w/out disclosing an invisible (or plainly visible) potential hazard that the buyer should be aware of.
Reminded me of https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/William_Lyttle
There is a good write-up/obituary of him at https://www.ft.com/content/fe13350f-6522-4892-b67e-301828b10...
Interesting case of double-layered false nominative determinism. Although foresta in Italian means "forest" and thus the surname would seem eminently plant-based, it actually means "foreigner", which I guess he also ended up being as Italian immigrant in the US. The etymology of forest and foreigner is closely related and means basically just "(from the) outside".
In Portuguese "forasteiro" can also be used to mean "foreigner" or "outsider".
Wow, that's a really sneaky "false friend" in Italian! Especially since it even has the meaning of "forest-related" in other Latinic languages, e.g. in French route forestière = forest road.
I wouldn't call it so much a false friend as forest/foreign (and forfeit and I'm sure a bunch of other words) all coming from the same Latin "foris" root and being semantically related.
In Italian, outside is just "fuori".
You're a foreigner to what you've forfeited in the forest.
Forest-related is "forestale" in Italian.
Not sure if it was from the last time this was posted but there’s a decent YouTube video about this place.[1]
[1] https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mUKRPoQKynk
Almost all the videos on this channel are fascinating btw. Greenhouses enveloping entire houses/villages[0][1] in northern Europe to earthships[2] to someone growing citrus in Nebraska using trenches[3] to entire villages underground in Australia[4]
[0] https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=irp_HPzfxbQ
[1] https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EzKSKqjEmDA
[2] https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wVp5koAOu9M
[3] https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZD_3_gsgsnk
[4] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Coober_Pedy
I'd also recommend the channels FLORB and Happen Films though they're admittedly a little corny.
https://www.youtube.com/@happenfilms
https://www.youtube.com/@FloatingOrbProductions
Crime Pays But Botany Doesn't recently did a tour of an interesting alt home as well. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2YyWspKzbAw
Thank you for sharing!
Just having went through a few episodes of violent thunderstorms with hail this month, I cannot help but wonder how resistant those glasshouses are?
If these kinds of videos appeal to you (as they do, me), then you would also like the "Mossy Earth" and "Project Kamp" channels, which document various re-wilding and forest management/alternative housing projects going on in various regions.
https://www.youtube.com/@ProjectKamp https://www.youtube.com/@MossyEarth
Very inspiring to be honest, I find myself looking for tiny home project ideas at least twice a month, alongside the perpetual scouting for cheap land in my neighborhood.
I'd absolutely love to have the opportunity to participate in the construction of underground gardens, if only there were more projects like that out there. It fills all the Uncle Owen / Mos Eisley dreams I've had since 1977. ;)
Anything to escape the concrete jungle rat-on-a-treadmill situation that most of us are in. At least I gave up the car trap .. no more commutes for me ..
One place this reminded me of (which isn't in the "see also" section): https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jameos_del_Agua on Lanzarote (Canary Islands). Both are underground structures inspired by traditional dwellings and take advantage of the cooling effect of underground structures, but Jameos del Agua is much larger and built inside a natural (partly collapsed) lava tube, not excavated. As a bonus, it has an endemic species of cave crab called jameito. Also something for fans of lavish 1960s architecture.
I went there once yawwwn they make you listen to this hour dissertation... yeah don't take young kids there... snore fest..
Are there places in the world where this is still possible? I.e. relatively in a state of order but where enforcement of this kind of thing is poor.
Sure, 4 Ha (10 acres) is an inconsequential corner of a 4,500 Ha farm with rural zoning - no one's going to care if you carve out a few underground spaces and rock wall them entirely and only at risk to yourself.
Community standards kick in once you open such things to the public or move to sale w/out disclosing an invisible (or plainly visible) potential hazard that the buyer should be aware of.
Well, in rural Australia at least.
My dad took me here a couple times as a kid, it's such a lovely place. Highly recommend checking it out, it's well worth the drive.
It's beautiful, but I wouldn't want to be down there in a major quake.
Related: “The underground world of hobby tunneling”
https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=39245893
272 points | Feb 3, 2024 | 164 comments