There are really many centuries of history of the Quarry Shaft (Pozzo della Cava), which has undergone continuous changes over time.
The lateral well with rectangular section is Etruscan and constitutes a soil test carried out to ascertain the presence of the aquifer before carrying out the excavation; it was then incorporated into the actual well.
When in 1527 Pope Clement VII ordered to dig the Well of San Patrizio, he also had this structure readjusted to be able to draw water from the spring from the street; the works were carried out at the expense of the municipality and ended in 1530.
It was only in 1999 that the discovery (made by the Orvieto researcher Lucio Riccetti following the discovery of an autograph letter from Antonio da Sangallo the Younger) that the first well built in Orvieto on commission of Pope Clement VII was that of the Cava and not that St. Patrick's, as had always been believed until then.
The well remained open until 1646, the year in which the municipal authorities ordered its closure, as evidenced by a plaque that was placed on the street. As for the reasons for this decision, popular belief has it that some French officers were thrown into it.
When, after more than a century of silence, in December 1984 Tersilio Sciarra rediscovered the well during renovations, its depth was only twenty-five meters, the bottom was in fact blocked by earth and debris accumulated over the centuries.
Only the works carried out in the spring of 1996 restored the structure to its original completeness, and it was only in 2004 that the ancient access to the well from Via della Cava could revive the light.
Quarry Shaft
Address: Via della Cava, 28, 05018 Orvieto TR
Phone: 0763 342373
Site:
http://www.pozzodellacava.itLocation inserted by
Laura Lucibello