Once upon a time in Ireland there was the proverbial St. Patrick’s Well. It really existed, but over the centuries it has been closed and reopened several times by the religious authorities, and now it is definitely out of the question, because it is considered a source of superstition rather than true faith. The last time he was banned by Alexander VI, Pope Borgia
Another pope, Clement VII, has instead built a well in Italy (they baptized it just like that) which does not spread superstition or faith but is an engineering miracle. It is located in Orvieto and can be visited; an experience that is worthwhile, even if it costs a bit of effort.
You know the Moebius strip, that is that ribbon of paper folded to form the symbol of infinity, in such a way that a column of ants can walk forever on its surface, without ever encountering obstacles and without the individual ants ever crossing between them? Here, the Well of Orvieto is something similar (attention, it is not mathematically the same thing, but it recalls it, and it is equally suggestive). It is flanked by a staircase carved into the stone, with which you can go down to the end and then go up again, but if while you are going down there are others going up you will never cross them, because the staircase is twisted into a double helical structure. In this way the donkeys loaded with empty gardens could be sent all the way to the bottom, in order to read them again and then rise to the surface without crossing the donkeys that were coming down.
As you go down, the Well changes color several times, as the brightness changes (photo by Luigi Grassia)
To favor the donkeys, the steps are long and low, also comfortable for humans; however, the ascent is 54 meters and you can try a little breathlessness. Down at the bottom there is a natural water reserve very useful to allow Orvieto to resist the sieges: Clement VII was fleeing from Rome, just conquered by the Landsknechts, and he wanted the town of Orvieto where he had taken refuge to be impregnable.
If you are thinking of a visit, do not fear the claustrophibian, unless you are affected by its extreme shape: the structure of the Well is airy, its diameter is 13 meters, and the lateral staircase is wide. you don’t go into a tunnel. Everything is well ventilated and you can breathe easily even at an altitude of -54 meters.
Near the bottom of the Pozzo di San Patrizio you would not see anything without artificial lights (photo by Luigi Grassia)
… And then we went out to see the stars again. After the visit to Orvieto we returned to the village of Scheggino, in the province of Perugia, where the Torre del Nera multi-building hotel was built, with rooms and apartments distributed among the city streets. A full immersion in medieval Umbria.
