The Pozzo di San Patrizio (English: "Well of St. Patrick") is a historic

well A well is an excavation or structure created on the earth by digging, driving, or drilling to access liquid resources, usually water. The oldest and most common kind of well is a water well, to access groundwater in underground aquifers. The ...

Orvieto Orvieto () is a city and ''comune'' in the Province of Terni, southwestern Umbria, Italy, situated on the flat summit of a large butte of volcanic tuff. The city rises dramatically above the almost-vertical faces of tuff cliffs that are compl ...

Umbria Umbria ( ; ) is a Regions of Italy, region of central Italy. It includes Lake Trasimeno and Cascata delle Marmore, Marmore Falls, and is crossed by the Tiber. It is the only landlocked region on the Italian Peninsula, Apennine Peninsula. The re ...

, central Italy. The city is high on the flat summit of a large butte of volcanic tuff that was fortified with defensive walls. The well was built between 1527 and 1537 by the architect-engineer

Antonio da Sangallo the Younger Antonio da Sangallo the Younger (12 April 14843 August 1546), also known as Antonio Cordiani, was an Italian architect active during the Renaissance, mainly in Rome and the Papal States. One of his most popular projects that he worked on des ...

of Florence, at the behest of

Pope Clement VII Pope Clement VII (; ; born Giulio di Giuliano de' Medici; 26 May 1478 – 25 September 1534) was head of the Catholic Church and ruler of the Papal States from 19 November 1523 to his death on 25 September 1534. Deemed "the most unfortunate o ...

who had taken refuge at Orvieto during the

sack of Rome in 1527 The Sack of Rome, then part of the Papal States, followed the capture of Rome on 6 May 1527 by the mutinous troops of Charles V, Holy Roman Emperor, during the War of the League of Cognac. Charles V only intended to threaten military action t ...

by the

Holy Roman Emperor Charles V Charles V (24 February 1500 – 21 September 1558) was Holy Roman Emperor and Archduke of Austria from 1519 to 1556, King of Spain (as Charles I) from 1516 to 1556, and Lord of the Netherlands as titular Duke of Burgundy (as Charles II) fr ...

. The city proved to be an excellent refuge except that Clement feared that the natural water supply for Orvieto would be insufficient in the event of a protracted siege. The well was completed in 1537 during the papacy of

Pope Paul III Pope Paul III (; ; born Alessandro Farnese; 29 February 1468 – 10 November 1549) was head of the Catholic Church and ruler of the Papal States from 13 October 1534 to his death, in November 1549. He came to the papal throne in an era follo ...

. The name was inspired by medieval legends that St. Patrick's Purgatory in Ireland gave access down to

Purgatory In Christianity, Purgatory (, borrowed into English language, English via Anglo-Norman language, Anglo-Norman and Old French) is a passing Intermediate state (Christianity), intermediate state after physical death for purifying or purging a soul ...

, indicating something very deep. The architect-engineer Antonio da Sangallo the Younger surrounded the central well shaft with two helical ramps in a

double helix In molecular biology, the term double helix refers to the structure formed by base pair, double-stranded molecules of nucleic acids such as DNA. The double Helix, helical structure of a nucleic acid complex arises as a consequence of its Nuclei ...

, accessed by two separate doors that allowed teams of donkeys to carry empty water vessels downward and full water vessels upward without having to cross paths by using the same staircase, and creating a continuous flow of their progress. The cylindrical well is deep with a base diameter of . There are 248 steps and 70 windows provide illumination.Dal sito del Comune di Orvieto: A

Latin Latin ( or ) is a classical language belonging to the Italic languages, Italic branch of the Indo-European languages. Latin was originally spoken by the Latins (Italic tribe), Latins in Latium (now known as Lazio), the lower Tiber area aroun ...

inscription on the well states QUOD NATURA MUNIMENTO INVIDERAT INDUSTRIA ADIECIT 'what nature has begrudged, industry has supplied'.

Notes

References

Review of Pozzo di San Patrizio (St. Patrick's Well)
at Frommers (tourism site) {{Coord, 42.722, N, 12.121, E, display=title Buildings and structures completed in 1537 Buildings and structures in Orvieto Double spiral staircases Water wells 1537 establishments in the Papal States