The Initiation Well, nearly 30 meters deep, is located within the historic Quinta da Regaleira estate but has never been used as a traditional water well.
The Initiation Well is located at the historic Quinta da Regaleira estate.
Tracing its historical origins, the Initiation Well was constructed for mysterious ritual purposes rather than serving as a conventional water source.
The wealthy Portuguese businessman Antonio Augusto Carvalho Monteiro, the owner of the Quinta da Regaleira, was known to be a member of the Freemason society. With the help of talented Italian architect Luigi Manini, Antonio Monteiro commissioned the construction of a special underground structure.
The Initiation Well opens into an underground labyrinth.
Architecturally, the Initiation Well is essentially the entrance to a vast labyrinth. Additionally, other entrances to this labyrinth are connected through a series of underground passages from the Initiation Well.
The Initiation Well begins with a spiral staircase supported by large intricately carved columns, leading deep down to the bottom of the well through nine layers of earth. Many believe that the distances between the layers and the number of steps between them are related to Tarot and Masonic principles.
Every step underground has been carefully calculated…
…to ultimately reach the bottom of the Initiation Well.
Notably, there have been numerous interpretations of the architecture of the Initiation Well, emphasizing the number 9, which is deeply rooted in the philosophy of the genius Dante Alighieri, renowned for his masterpieces, The Divine Comedy (La Divina Commedia) and The New Life (La Vita Nuova).
In his descriptions, Dante associates the number 9 with concepts of heaven, hell, life, death, and rebirth.
For this reason, the Initiation Well symbolizes a parable about death and rebirth. The journey deep into the Initiation Well parallels the journey into Mother Earth or, conversely, reaching out towards the light.
