The Well of the Quarry

What it is and where it is

In one of the oldest and most evocative areas of the city, accessible from Via della Cava, is the interesting and eponymous Well, so named because the area housed a quarry for building materials in ancient times. The well, brought to light by several interventions, has returned a depth of no less than 36 meters, articulated in two attached structures: the first with a circular plan has a diameter of about 3.40 meters, the second rectangular in shape, has dimensions 60 x 80 centimeters and has the clear signs of Etruscan "pedarole," or incisions made on the walls to allow ascent and descent.

Why it is special

The well was entirely dug by hand in the lithoid tufa of which the Orvieto cliff is composed, and it must have had a very ancient origin, as all around it a series of environments and "caves" dated to various eras and with different functions develop: remains of tombs, water tunnels and cisterns dated to the Etruscan period, but also remains of a furnace for processing ceramics or cellars from the medieval age.