Description of the attraction
The Albornoz fortress, built in Orvieto by order of the Spanish cardinal Albornoz, stands to the left of Piazza Cahen. It was built by the military engineer Ugolino di Montemarte.
The fortress is located on the site where an ancient Etruscan temple once stood, which archaeologists call Augural. The construction of the massive fortress, originally called Rocca di San Martino, began in 1353 or 1359. The city cemetery and some important public buildings were nearby. The main goal in the construction of the fortress was to transform Orvieto into a reliable stronghold of the Church, where the cardinal and his subjects could join forces in conducting military campaigns.
A small building was erected near the main gate, which was surrounded by a moat - one could get into it only by a suspension bridge. But all the tricks did not help: already in 1395 Rocca was demolished, and all subsequent attempts to restore it turned out to be unsuccessful. Only in the middle of the 15th century, the fortress was rebuilt using original drawings. At the same time, a number of fortifications were added to it.
After the sack of Rome in 1527, Pope Clement VII took refuge in Orvieto. To make sure that in the event of a siege, the city would be supplied with water, he ordered the digging of a well, which today is known as Pozzo di San Patrizio. The second such well was dug specifically to provide only the fortress with water. Antonio da Sangallo the Younger worked on the first well, as evidenced by the inscription above the southern entrance, made during the restoration work in 1712.
The fortress was finally completed under Pope Paul II and Urban VIII in the 1620s, and later it was restored on the initiative of Pope Alexander VII. In 1831, most of the building was destroyed, and in 1888 the outer moat was covered with earth to pave the way for the funicular. An interesting fact: the funeral of the great Italian Giuseppe Garibaldi took place here in 1882. Today the territory of the fortress is used as a city park.
