In the 1930s Marcello Creti was hailed as one of the great inventors of Italy. Today he lives in a 16th century monastery at Sutri near Rome; his Societa Ergoniana has a cult following, and he has rooms of huge machines designed to influence energy in the body. He is also a spirit medium and claims his discoveries are made using his psychic powers. Picture shows Creti with one of his energising machines.