Volterra

Volterra was founded by the Etruscans around the seventh century BC. Today traces of them remain in the Porta all’’Arco, the Etruscan Walls and the sanctuaries of the Acropolis. In Roman times monumental buildings were erected, such as the theater, baths and amphitheater. At the end of the ancient era, the city was transformed into an important episcopal center, to the point of becoming a municipality in medieval times. The entire historical center –its churches, walls, tower houses and palaces–makes up the city’s image in the public imagination. Volterra holds what was the first public palace in Tuscany, Palazzo dei Priori (1208), which stands on the square of the same name, one of the most architecturally interesting in Italy. Today, most of its masterpieces are exhibited in museums: the Guarnacci Etruscan Museum, the Civic Art Gallery, and the Diocesan Museum. Still others are preserved in their original contexts, inside the churches, particularly in cathedral of Santa Maria Assunta. All throughout the historic center you’ll find local traditional handicrafts in abundance, namely, alabaster workmanship, seen both in shops along the streets and in the Alabaster Museum (Ecomuseo dell’Alabastro).