Landmark underground gardens get some national love on a Fox TV show

One of Fresno's most unique — some would say bizarre — landmarks will get national attention on a Fox network reality show.

Forestiere Underground Gardens is the subject of a new episode of "Strange Inheritance" on Fox Business Network. Show host Jamie Colby tours the subterranean digs and talks to the descendants of Baldassare Forestiere, who spent four decades of the early 20th century carving out the place.

The episode, dubbed "Man Cave," shares a tale of what happened after Forestiere died in 1946 and a family relative leased some of the property to a developer. "The family was aghast," we're told, "when the developer turned it into a roadside attraction that beckoned travelers to 'the secret world of The Human Mole!"

"Man Cave" is scheduled to air at 6 p.m. Monday.

The underground gardens are open to guided tours. Because of its earthen insulation, the labyrinthine layout remains (relatively) cool in triple-digit Valley summers and (again, relatively) warm in winter.

The 10-acre site in central Fresno remains in the family, under Forestiere's nephew, Ric, and Ric's daughters, Valery Forestiere and Lyn Kosewski. It is on California's register of historic sites.

This story was originally published March 1, 2018 at 2:20 PM with the headline "Landmark underground gardens get some national love on a Fox TV show."