Estimated read time: 1-2 minutes
This archived news story is available only for your personal, non-commercial use. Information in the story may be outdated or superseded by additional information. Reading or replaying the story in its archived form does not constitute a republication of the story.
WORCESTERSHIRE — The expression "get away from it all" can mean many things to different people. For me, it's the very attainable goal of binge-watching a show I've been meaning to get to on Netflix while turning my phone on airplane mode. For others, it's a hike in the mountains or an extended trip abroad.
For one English man, it meant building a dream home inside of a cave.
To each their own.
Thirty-eight-year-old Angelo Mastropietro — whose surname literally means "master of the stone" — spent approximately $230,000 creating a holiday home in the side of a mountain in the Wyre Forest in Worcestrershire, UK. In a video posted by Barcroft TV, Mastropietro shows off his digs that he spent so much time manually building, taking an estimated 1,000 man hours just breaking rock as a preliminary to the building process.
What's inspiring about Mastropietro's awesome home is that he was inspired to build it after being diagnosed with multiple sclerosis in 2007. After being temporarily paralyzed due to his condition, he sought a simpler life that was different from his then-occupation as head of a recruitment company in Australia.
Mastropietro bought the cave for approximately $90,000 and did most of the construction himself.
Fun fact: The cliffs in Wyre Forest were said to have inspired J.R.R. Tolkein when he wrote about Middle Earth. It is a little reminiscent of Hobbiton, don't you think?
It's also important to note that the cave dwelling has WiFi. Because it's important to get away from it all, but not become an animal.