In Trastevere, on Via della Cisterna, just a stone’s throw from Piazza Trilussa, a tavern that had been closed for 23 years has reopened: two years of restoration have brought back to life a venue that hides a well dating back to 1613 beneath its floor, at the heart of a legend involving none other than Walt Disney.
The 17th-century well said to have enchanted Walt Disney
The name is no coincidence. In the 17th century, the street level in this part of Trastevere was several meters lower, and the small tavern actually sheltered the well from which the neighborhood drew its water. Today, that well—octagonal and well-preserved—is located in one of the restaurant’s underground rooms, frescoed in the early 19th century by the painter Bartolomeo Pinelli: one of the most evocative corners of underground Rome.
Legend has it that in the 1950s, Walt Disney visited it in person and was so impressed that he drew inspiration from it for the wishing well sequence in *Fantasia*: no official Disney source confirms this, but it’s one of those details of secret Rome that the most observant Romans have been passing down for decades.
Trilussa, Petrolini, and the founding of the Gruppo dei Romanisti right here
In the early 20th century, within these very walls, a group of Roman intellectuals—including Trilussa and Ettore Petrolini— would gather : according to tradition, it was at those very tables that the core group that would later become the Gruppo dei Romanisti was formed, a group that remains a point of reference even today for those studying the city’s history.
What to Order (and How Much It Really Costs)
Then there’s the more tangible aspect—the one that makes you want to come back: at Cisterna di Trastevere, you’ll enjoy authentic Roman cuisine, with carbonara often highlighted as the house specialty and an artichoke alla giudia that’s crispy on the outside and tender on the inside.
Among the many reopenings in Rome in recent months, the Osteria della Cisterna remains one of the city’s historic spots capable of combining legend, fine cuisine, and a slice of authentic Roman charm just a few meters beneath your feet.
📍Address: Via della Cisterna, Trastevere.
