Located 50 miles north of Birmingham on the grounds of the only Benedictine monastery in Alabama, the amazing Ave Maria Grotto is more or less the work of one man, Brother Joseph Zoettl, who spent the better part of 35 years hand-sculpting stone and cement miniatures of the world's most prominent religious buildings. The attention to detail and level of skill in the 125 pieces is amazing, regardless of your personal views on religion. From an art perspective, it's even more miraculous yet – after all, this was just Brother Joseph's hobby.
