In 1527, imperial troops sacked Rome and Pope Clement VII fled to Orvieto, worried the city's water supply couldn't survive a siege of its own. He put Antonio da Sangallo the Younger on the problem, and between 1527 and 1537 Sangallo sank a well 53 meters straight into the tufa, wrapping it in two spiral ramps that never cross.
Mules loaded with empty jugs went down one ramp while others, full, came up the other, and the two trains never had to pass each other on the 248 steps. Seventy small windows light the shaft as you descend. The well takes its name, Pozzo di San Patrizio, from an Irish legend about a cave so deep it could only be purgatory.
Sources and citations (5)
- Comune di OrvietoPozzo di San PatrizioDescription: 1527 commission, Clement VII, Sangallo and siege-water purposeRead source
- Ministero della CulturaPozzo di San PatrizioDescription: Clement VII refuge, Sangallo project and water shortage contextRead source
- Comune di OrvietoFortezza AlbornozDescription: former Pozzo della Rocca, fortress service and city supplyRead source
- CoopCulturePozzo di San PatrizioMonument summary: Clement VII, 1527 and Antonio da SangalloRead source
- Umbria TourismPozzo di San PatrizioHistory: 1527 commission, Sangallo and city-water purposeRead source
