Volterra Things to Do

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The Renaissance Castello Medici is monumental fortress built for military purpose by Lorenzo de Medici the Magnificent. At the same time it served as political prison for all oponents to the Medici.The fortress streches from east to west with two long massive walls uniting trapezodial Rocca Vecchia, from 1342, and Rocca Nuova from 1472. Castello de Medici is also well known patrimonial of Italian Risorgimento.

San Michele is 13th century Romanesque styled church bearing the coat of arms of the Farnese family at its facade. In the lunette above the main entrance is copy of Madonna and child, the 14th century sculpture which original is preserving in the Museum of Sacred Art. There is notable marble tabarnacle in the presbytery, work of Giovanni della Robbia.

San Giusto is beautifully located church dominating the small hill. It was built in 1627 under the design of Florentine architect Coccapani. Each day of the year, exactly on midday, a ray of sunlight shines through a hole and and falls on the marble meridian line marked out on the floor of the church.

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The cathedral, dedicated to the Assumption Marry, was reconstructed in 1120 on a site of am older church. It has Romanesque styled facade with the marble intarsia framework of the main door added in the 13th century, attributed to Nicolo Pisani. The interiors is in the Latin cross plan and a nave flanked by two aisles. There are six altars inside the cathedral, framed by a sculptured frieze in a Montecatini stone date from the 16th century.
The bell tower is separated from the cathedral and was built by the end of the 15th century after the old bell tower collapsed. Most probably it was designed by Sansovino.

I was quite taken by the little explanatory pamphlets with which the various Volterran churches greeted visitors. Each says, "Welcome, pilgrim and tourist"and I had the notion that they really meant it -- and not just because we were willing to drop .50 in the collection box. The stand-alone octagonal baptistery must have been a standard design choice, as you can see similar structures in at least Parma and Ravenna (which even has an octagonal church dating to 548); the facade and portal of this particular Baptistery of San Giovanni were likely built in 1278 although records suggest a baptismal function on the site as early as 989. In the large central font -- the present version added in 1759, though an earlier version from 1502 remains in a side niche -- adults would have been immersed within view of the main altar. The large painting by Niccolo Cercignani (dated 1591) was moved to the Baptistery in 1764 after the Church of St. Marco, where it was originally installed, was destroyed. (The upper part of the painting was seriously damaged during World War II.)

Nearly every guide and website on Volterra features a photograph of this famous Etruscan gate, built in the 4th century BC. The three heads, or what's left of them, are of Zeus and his sons (although on one site, they were named as Juno, and Minerva, which sure don't sound like sons to me!), and they were added about three hundred years later.

Don't miss the little plaque which recounts the story that on June 30, 1944, Volterrans rallied to convince the retreating Germans not to blow up this ancient gateway -- by completely filling it with the large stones paving the road which leads from it into the central part of the walled city. It must have been quite an effort because, as the photo shows, this is one BIG gate.

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Sue Stone's top-rated Volterra page gives a good description of the remains of the Roman theater, located just outside the Porta Fiorentina. I never saw anyone actually enter the site, but there are numerous places where you can get an excellent view of the ranks of seats, the remaining pillars of the theater (both of which were constructed in the 1st century), and even the elaborate baths (a later 4th century addition) which were a part of the complex. As you can see from the photo, it looks pretty glamorous in the twilight!

Unfortunately, we just missed the Roman Theater Festival, which was due to take place from July 1-17, 2010. If you're likely to be in Volterra around that time next year, be sure to check out the performance schedule -- and really imagine that you're a Roman.

The Ecomuseo dell'Alabastro was an unexpected treat. You enter from the courtyard of the Palazzo Minucci-Solaini (home of the Pinacoteca Civico), and pay an additional fee of 3 euros. The space has been beautifully remodeled -- it was once part of the city wall -- so as to best display the art within. Now, prepare to be amazed. I'd seen some pretty fabulous alabaster in my perusals of several shops and artisans in Volterra, but this museum really took my breath away. It starts by giving you a short course on the substance itself, which can be divided into these four main categories:

Scaglione: a translucent alabaster
Pietra a marmo: a white, opaque alabaster that looks a bit like white marble
Bardiglio: an alabaster characterized by the presence of dark veins, whose color varies based on the type of impurities present in the stone
Agata or Agate: an alabaster whose color ranges between red and brown due to the presence of iron and magnesium oxides

Mastered that? Now take a look at the reconstructed alabaaster workshop so you have an idea of how the mineral would be carved. Then you're ready to see what can be done by the experts. A number of the artisans in town have examples of their work on display, for example, Oasi's replica of the Leaning Tower of Pisa. Personally, I loved the classical sculptures -- the pictured one is by alab'Arte.

There is also a small gift shop with prints and books. An elevator provides access for the mobility-challenged to the museum's four levels.