January– February – November – December: 10.00am – 5.00pm
March – April – September – October: 9.00am – 7.00pm
May – June – July – August: 9.00am – 8.00pm
Ticket: € 5,00
Reduced (students, senior, groups): € 3,50
Free for children 0-6 years old
Animals not allowed
"A magic masterpiece of Renaissance engineering"
In 1527 during the “Sack of Rome” the then Pope Clement VII took refuge in Orvieto. He commissioned Antonio da Sangallo the Younger in the construction of the well to serve as the water supply in case of siege.
At the beginning this Well was called the “Pozzo della Rocca” due to its proximity to the fortress (or Rocca Albornoz). Then the current name of St. Patrick (San Patrizio) was linked to the well-known legend of the Irish saint and the legendary cave in which the saint retired to pray. The legend talks about a cave that was endless and symbolically represented a descent into the afterlife and a form of redemption. Every year during the St.Patrick day the well celebrates this event and it is illuminated with green lights.
The design of Sangallo, who already worked on the fortification of the city, was inspired by the spiral of the Belvedere in the Vatican. He created an ingenious system of two spiral staircases that never meet.
They create a way to get in and out of the well (about 53 meters deep) without any traffic problems. Today it is a real pleasure to descend to its depths along the more than two hundred steps.
Near the Pozzo di San Patrizio
- Tempio etrusco del Belvedere (30 mt)
- Fortezza Albornoz (120 mt)
- funicular station and minibus
See also other Orvieto underground attractions
