mensa canonicorum – rendita dei canonici:

The “pozzo” was a long and narrow four-sided room constructed with large blocks of stone of the roman period and along its medieval walls a water tower was erected.
Historical notary’s acts inform us that this area belonged to the “Capitolo”, the Canonical College of S.Rufino and was known as the “Mensa Canonicorum” (the canonical revenue). At that time the church of S.Rufino was still under construction.
The Capitolo was later given over to a faction of families of noble rank who fortified the construction in order to use it as a stronghold in times of battle. In those days the Minores (the lowborn) were fighting against the Maiores (the aristocrats) and the Capitolo served to protect the families and their water supply in times of sieges and uprisings.