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Description
Quinta da Regaleira

Well of Initiation

An underground gallery with a spiral staircase, supported by carved columns, where it descends 27 meters (88 feet) to the bottom. The staircase consists of nine terraces separated by stretches of 15 steps each, citing references to Dante's Divine Comedy and that may represent the nine circles of hell, paradise, or purgatory. According to the renowned occultist's Albert Pike, René Guénon and Manly Palmer Hall's, it's in 'The Divine Comedy' that the Rosicrucian Order is first exposed. At the bottom of the well, built in marble, is a compass rose (eight-pointed star: 4 large cardinals and 4 smaller markers) on a Templar cross, which is both Monteiro de Carvalho's heraldic emblem and indicative of the Order of the Rose Cross.

It is called initiatory, because it is believed that it was used in rituals of initiation into Freemasonry and the explanation of the symbolism of these nine levels are said to be found in the work “The Rosicrucian Cosmo-Conception”.

The symbolism of the place is related to the belief that the earth is the womb from which emerged life, but also the grave to where it will return. Many rites of initiation allude to aspects of birth and death linked to the earth, or rebirth.
The existence of 23 niches located underneath the steps of the initiatory well represented one of the many mysteries of this construction. On December 29, 2010, Professor Gabriel Fernandez Calvo from the Superior Technical School of Paths of Engineers, Channels and Ports of the University de Castilla-La Mancha in Ciudad Real, when he visited the well together with other teachers from UCLM, he noticed that 23 niches are not made by chance, as they are grouped into three sets of 17, 1 and 5 clusters separated from each other as they descend to the bottom. This organization is not random and probably refers to the year 1715 when Francisco de Castro Guimarães Albertino purchased the property (known as Quinta da Torre or of Castro) at auction.

The well is connected by several galleries or tunnels to other parts of the estate, being, the entrance of the Guradians, the waterfall lake and the Imperfect Pit. These tunnels were once inhabited by bats but have since been driven away by the many tourists who visit the site. The tunnels are covered with stone imported from the coastline of the region of Peniche, this stone gives the tunnels a hint of a submerged world. (Source:wikipedia)

©2012 - Nelson Santos

Description
Quinta da Regaleira

Well of Initiation

An underground gallery with a spiral staircase, supported by carved columns, where it descends 27 meters (88 feet) to the bottom. The staircase consists of nine terraces separated by stretches of 15 steps each, citing references to Dante's Divine Comedy and that may represent the nine circles of hell, paradise, or purgatory. According to the renowned occultist's Albert Pike, René Guénon and Manly Palmer Hall's, it's in 'The Divine Comedy' that the Rosicrucian Order is first exposed. At the bottom of the well, built in marble, is a compass rose (eight-pointed star: 4 large cardinals and 4 smaller markers) on a Templar cross, which is both Monteiro de Carvalho's heraldic emblem and indicative of the Order of the Rose Cross.

It is called initiatory, because it is believed that it was used in rituals of initiation into Freemasonry and the explanation of the symbolism of these nine levels are said to be found in the work “The Rosicrucian Cosmo-Conception”.

The symbolism of the place is related to the belief that the earth is the womb from which emerged life, but also the grave to where it will return. Many rites of initiation allude to aspects of birth and death linked to the earth, or rebirth.
The existence of 23 niches located underneath the steps of the initiatory well represented one of the many mysteries of this construction. On December 29, 2010, Professor Gabriel Fernandez Calvo from the Superior Technical School of Paths of Engineers, Channels and Ports of the University de Castilla-La Mancha in Ciudad Real, when he visited the well together with other teachers from UCLM, he noticed that 23 niches are not made by chance, as they are grouped into three sets of 17, 1 and 5 clusters separated from each other as they descend to the bottom. This organization is not random and probably refers to the year 1715 when Francisco de Castro Guimarães Albertino purchased the property (known as Quinta da Torre or of Castro) at auction.

The well is connected by several galleries or tunnels to other parts of the estate, being, the entrance of the Guradians, the waterfall lake and the Imperfect Pit. These tunnels were once inhabited by bats but have since been driven away by the many tourists who visit the site. The tunnels are covered with stone imported from the coastline of the region of Peniche, this stone gives the tunnels a hint of a submerged world. (Source:wikipedia)

©2012 - Nelson Santos