St. Cajetan Church, Goa
Dome-crowned Greek-cross church built by Italian friars over a mysterious seventy-two-foot well.
This guide to St. Cajetan Church in Goa centers on a covered well beneath its dome, seventy-two feet deep, that nobody can quite agree on: some say the builders struck water while digging foundations, others that it predates the church, left over from a Hindu temple or the palace of Adil Shah. It follows the Italian Theatine friars who arrived in sixteen forty hoping to convert the kingdom of Golconda, were turned away twice, and ended up petitioning the Portuguese king for land here instead. You'll hear the competing claims about which Roman church the building's Greek-cross dome actually copies. Look down into the well once more before you go, and read the Latin motto running around the base of the cupola.
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