The well seen from above.

During many centuries, the man has used the ice and the snow to process ice creams, to conserve the fish, among other foods, and products with therapeutic aims, etc. When the cold froze the water, the resulting ice was stored within wells. When arriving the heat, this ice was used and commercialized. The well of Oliana is a singular example of this advantage of the resources. Located near the river of the Flower, to the outskirts of vila of Oliana, one is about an underground construction, circular plant and cover with return of average sphere. Its peak altitude is of 8.3 meters and their diameter of 5, 45 m.s These characteristics allowed to maintain the heat insulation of the well. It was acceded by a passage of 12 meters in very narrow length and, that advanced in form of 4. It allowed to maintain the heat insulation of the well. Now, the new access, opened to facilitate the visits, has dimensions of 13 x 2 x 2.5 meters that facilitate the access to the visitors.

Also a permanent exhibition can be seen on wells of ice and snow of Catalonia, Valencia and of other places of the Mediterranean area, with you photograph and explanatory graphs on the operation of this type of constructions. In addition, as already we aimed before, the extracted ice of the well also was commercialized. This way the business of the ice entailed the establishment of important commercial networks. It was exported to Majorca or Menorca and Eivissa (Ibiza); of the Montseny to Cotlliure, and   until same Italy. Also one embarked in Mataró with destiny towards Cadiz, i from Boston to the British islands... or Calcuta!

 

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Extracted information of the opuscule published by the Local Consell of the Alt Urgell: "Route of the offices of yesterday"