knowital.com blog

Accommodation in Volterra, Tuscany can either be in the old town itself or (more likely) a villa in the countryside around, though you will find Volterra town centre apartments. So … what’s to see in this quite unique Tuscan town?

The ancient town of Volterra, in Tuscany’s Pisa province, long predates the Romans, being a neolithic settlement, an important centre for the Etruscans and then a municipium under Rome. Today, lying on a high plateau in its circle of grey-yellow volcanic hills, Volterra has an isolated and bleak aspect. DH Lawrence described it as ‘an inland island, cirously isolated and grim’. Still, let’s not get too gloomy – sitting high above the valley it’s a starkly beautiful place, with its cobbled streets, walled gateways and sombre palazzos. The town reached its peak in the Middle Ages, before falling to Florence and the Medici in the 16th century.

There is plenty to see, including the first century BC Roman theatre, excavated in the 1950s. The Piazza dei Priori can lay claim as one of the most beautiful squares in all Italy, while the Palazzo dei Priori was the administrative centre of Volterra from the Middle Ages. The Cathedral of Santa Maria Assunta is early medieval, enlarged in the 13th century after the earthquake, and has some superb pieces of art, among them paintings by Santi di Tito, Giovanni Balducci and Agostino Veracini, a terracotta group attributed to Andrea della Robbia and a fresco of the Magi by Benozzo Gozzoli. See too the Medici Fortress (now a prison) and the Guarnacci Etruscan Museum, home to thousands of funeral urns from the Hellenistic and Ancient periods. Further evidence of Etruscan settlement lies outside the town, with excavations of tombs in the Valle Bona. Also see the Medici Villa di Spedaletto.

Take a look at a Google map of accommodation in and around Volterra, Tuscany … information, prices and how to book.

Popularity: 55% [?]