The well was built in 1465 by the Hospital of Santa Maria della Scala in Siena, to facilitate the water supply of the hospital and the houses overlooking Piazza San Francesco. With the improvement of the city’s water supply system, which occurred between the eighteenth and nineteenth centuries, the work lost what were its original functions. A series of restorations during the last century have allowed to bring the monumental well back to its ancient splendor.
In evidence we can see the coats of arms of the Republic of Siena, the black white Balzana and the coat of arms of the Hospital of Santa Maria della Scala, the most important Sienese hospital.