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Photo: Antichitera, CC BY-SA 3.0 via Wikimedia Commons
The St. Patrick’s Well is a remarkable 16th-century engineering feat commissioned by Pope Clement VII to secure a reliable water supply during times of siege. Designed by Antonio da Sangallo the Younger, the well descends over 50 m via a unique double-helix staircase, allowing animals and people to travel down and up without crossing paths. Lit by a series of windows carved into the shaft, the descent is both atmospheric and practical.
The Pozzo di San Patrizio is a historic well in Orvieto, Umbria, 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 of Florence, at the behest of Pope Clement VII who had taken refuge at Orvieto during the sack of Rome in 1527 by the Holy Roman Emperor Charles V. 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.
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Chiesa di Sant'Andrea
Built during the 12th century.
A stately 13th-century civic building, once the seat of the Captain of the People, a key figure in medieval communal government. With its crenellated façade and elegant loggia, it reflects Orvieto’s period of political independence and prosperity, and today hosts exhibitions and cultural events.