Etruscan Well

Forming one of the Umbrian capital’s emblematic sites, the Pozzo Etrusco (Etruscan Well) is located near the area known as Colle del Sole, the site of an ancient acropolis which was one of a group of twelve city-states known as the Etruscan ‘dodecapoli’ in what is now Central Italy.

The homogenous nature of the materials used to construct both the well and the Etruscan city walls tend to support the theory, based on studies conducted by the Etruscan specialist Simonetta Stopponi, that they were constructed at around the same period and may thus have been part of a programme of public engineering works.

The well, which is still in use, is supplied by three active springs. Speleological studies carried out in the past estimate the cistern’s capacity to be around 424 cubic metres meaning it could contain up to a maximum of 424,000 litres of water. The cistern was constructed as a 37-metre-high cylindrical shaft, narrowing towards the base and excavated into a coarse-grained sedimentary rock known as “tassello mandorlato”, mostly composed of clay and small rounded pebbles. 
 

Contacts:

Address: Piazza Danti, 18 - 06123 Perugia PG

Phone: 075 5733669 - 339 2222833

Email: pozzoetrusco@fondazioneranieri.org

Website: http://www.pozzoetrusco.it