St Patrick's Purgatory is an ancient pilgrimage site on Station Island in Lough Derg, County Donegal, Ireland. According to legend, the site dates from the fifth century, when Christ showed Saint Patrick a cave, sometimes referred to as a pit or a well, on Station Island that was an entrance to Purgatory.Its importance in medieval times is clear from the fact that it is mentioned in texts from as early as 1185 and shown on maps from all over Europe as early as the fifteenth century. It is the only Irish site designated on Martin Behaim's world map of 1492. It is also depicted on the third sheet of the Pinelli–Walckenaer Atlas, an anonymous portolan chart believed to have been created sometime between 1384 and 1410; the name is given as lo Purgatorio.
- ⭐ Core Definition: St. Patrick's Purgatory
- St. Patrick's Purgatory in the context of Pozzo di San Patrizio
St. Patrick's Purgatory in the context of Pozzo di San Patrizio
The Pozzo di San Patrizio (English: "Well of St. Patrick") 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.
The name was inspired by medieval legends that St. Patrick's Purgatory in Ireland gave access down to Purgatory, indicating something very deep.
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