Deep in the volcanic rock that serves as the foundation for the ancient city of Orvieto in Italy there are hundreds of tunnels and chambers crisscrossing below the sleepy town above. While some of these tunnels and underground rooms are used as cellars by the owners of the buildings above, others are ancient tunnels dating even to centuries before Christ.
When I was visiting Orvieto, I did not know whether I'd be able to make it to the caves or not. But I found the time and was able to buy the tickets at the information office on the Duomo's piazza. The tour guides met outside that office in the square in front of the Duomo and took us down to the cave area on the outskirt of the town on the cliff. This was about half a block from the Duomo.
The caves are all man made, dug out from the tufa and volcanic rock the city rests upon. One of the first rooms we saw was a pigeon room where there were pigeon holes dug into the walls. A window to the side opened out to the cliff and provided a way for the pigeons to fly in and out of their nesting area to feed in the valley below.
Our tour guide said that up until a few centuries ago, people would raise the pigeons for food and some would sell pigeons to the other side of the town where there wasn't enough sunlight and warmth to make a comfortable home for the birds. On account of a fear of smugglers, the townspeople were required to bar their windows. A law was passed to prohibit pigeon raising and the cellars were put to other uses.
One use they put the pigeon hole room area to seems to be that of a water reservoir. They dug a hole from the top of the ground and let the water build up in the cellar. When it came to a certain level, a tile chute like pipe conveyed the water elsewhere so as to keep the room from flooding.
