# Perugia's Etruscan Well and the free Rocca Paolina

> Perugia's Rocca Paolina is free and its escalators run 6:15 am to 2 am. The Etruscan Well is 37 meters deep; the city doesn't publish its hours or price.

URL: https://myitalia.it/attractions/pozzo-etrusco-e-rocca-paolina
Last updated: 2026-09-11

The Rocca Paolina in Perugia costs nothing to walk through and its escalators run from 6:15 am to 2 am, while the Etruscan Well is 37 meters deep but has no hours or price published by the city (2026).

## The Rocca Paolina: free, and open until 2 am

The buried quarter under the Rocca Paolina is crossed free of charge, on escalators that run from 6:15 am to 2 am (06:15 to 02:00 on the signs).

It's not a detour. The route from the Piazza Partigiani car park up to the historic center runs through it, so anyone who parks there walks through it on the way up.

2 am is the useful number. Coming back down late after dinner in the upper town, the escalators are still running.

## A medieval quarter under a papal fortress

Antonio da Sangallo the Younger built the Rocca Paolina between 1540 and 1543 for Pope Paul III, and he built it on top of an entire medieval neighborhood.

The fortress swallowed the houses of the Baglioni family, the borgo of Santa Giuliana and the church of Santa Maria dei Servi. What you walk through are the streets of that quarter, roofed over. The full account is in [Perugia buried a whole quarter](/stories/perugia-buried-a-whole-quarter).

## Porta Marzia: 7 am to 8 pm

Porta Marzia, an Etruscan gate of the 3rd century BC, was taken apart and remounted by Sangallo in the front wall of the Rocca, and the passage through it is open from 7 am to 8 pm (2026).

It's the same fortress, with shorter hours than the escalators. After 8 pm, use the escalator route.

## The Etruscan Well: 37 meters, three springs

The Etruscan Well, also called Pozzo Sorbello, was dug in the second half of the 3rd century BC and goes down 37 meters, at Piazza Piccinino.

The upper part is a cylinder about 5.6 meters across and 12 meters tall, narrowing to 3 meters lower down. Two travertine arch beams cover it, each weighing 80 quintals, 8 metric tons, laid without mortar or binder. Three perennial springs feed it.

The beams have held for more than two thousand years without mortar.

## Well hours and price: not published by the city

The city's page on the well does not publish opening hours or prices: the site is run by the Fondazione Ranieri di Sorbello, at pozzoetrusco.it, and that page wasn't verified for this one.

Look there before you plan around it. A comparison with the well at Orvieto is in [two staircases that never meet](/stories/two-staircases-that-never-meet).

## The Arco Etrusco: 11 meters and a Roman rename

The Arco Etrusco is an 11-meter travertine gate from the 3rd century BC, and it carries the inscription Augusta Perusia, added about two centuries later.

The inscription dates from Augustus's restoration of the city after the Bellum Perusinum of 41 to 40 BC, which is why the gate is also called the Arco di Augusto. More on the city: [Perugia](/towns/perugia), [events in Perugia](/towns/perugia/events) and the [Galleria Nazionale dell'Umbria](/attractions/galleria-nazionale-umbria).

## FAQ

### Is the Rocca Paolina in Perugia free?

Yes. You walk through the buried medieval quarter under the Rocca Paolina at no charge, and the escalators that cross it run from 6:15 am to 2 am (2026). It's also the way up from the Piazza Partigiani car park to the historic center.

### How deep is the Etruscan Well in Perugia?

37 meters. It was dug in the second half of the 3rd century BC, is fed by three perennial springs, and its top is roofed by two travertine beams of 80 quintals each, 8 metric tons, set without mortar.

### What are the opening hours of the Etruscan Well in Perugia?

The city of Perugia doesn't publish them. The well is run by the Fondazione Ranieri di Sorbello, whose site, pozzoetrusco.it, wasn't verified for this page. Check there before you go; the address is Piazza Piccinino.

### Who built the Rocca Paolina?

Antonio da Sangallo the Younger, between 1540 and 1543, for Pope Paul III. The fortress swallowed a whole medieval quarter, including the houses of the Baglioni family and the church of Santa Maria dei Servi, and that quarter is what you walk through today.

### Why does the Arco Etrusco say Augusta Perusia?

Because Augustus had Perugia restored after the Bellum Perusinum of 41 to 40 BC, and the inscription was added then, about two centuries after the 11-meter gate went up in the 3rd century BC.

## Sources

| Fact | Source | Confidence | Valid until |
|---|---|---|---|
| La Rocca Paolina di Perugia fu costruita fra il 1540 e il 1543 da Antonio da Sangallo il Giovane per volere di papa Paolo III inglobando un intero quartiere medievale, comprese le case dei Baglioni e la chiesa di Santa Maria dei Servi: oggi il quartiere sepolto si attraversa gratuitamente con le scale mobili, attive dalle 6.15 alle 2.00 di notte, mentre Porta Marzia apre 7.00-20.00 (2026). | [Comune di Perugia](https://www.comune.perugia.it/luogo/rocca-paolina/) | medium | 2027-06-30 |
| Il Pozzo Etrusco (o Pozzo Sorbello) di Perugia, scavato nella seconda meta' del III secolo a.C., e' profondo 37 metri: la parte alta e' un cilindro di circa 5,6 metri di diametro per 12 metri di altezza, coperta da due travature ad arco in travertino da 80 quintali ciascuna montate senza malta ne' leganti, ed e' alimentato da tre sorgenti perenni. | [Comune di Perugia](https://www.comune.perugia.it/luogo/pozzo-etrusco/) | medium | 2099-12-31 |
| L'Arco Etrusco di Perugia, alto 11 metri e costruito in blocchi di travertino nel III secolo a.C. come porta delle mura etrusche, porta l'iscrizione 'Augusta Perusia' aggiunta circa due secoli dopo, quando Augusto fece restaurare la citta' devastata dal Bellum Perusinum del 41-40 a.C. | [Comune di Perugia](https://www.comune.perugia.it/luogo/arco-etrusco/) | medium | 2099-12-31 |

## Image

https://media.myitalia.it/media/city.perugia.v2.1600.jpg
Author: Dawid Skalec. License: CC BY-SA 3.0 (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/3.0).
Source: https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Fontana_Maggiore_a_Perugia_4.JPG

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