 HILLS |
NEWSPAPERS & MAGAZINES |
|
|
LINKS |
|
|
USEFUL SITES |
|
|
TELEPHONE BOOK |
|
|
EDITORIAL STAFF |
|
|
 |
|
|
|
|
VOLTERRA
Volterra a obligatory stop for the visitor interested in
art and history, is a pearl of the Etruscan and medieval art, located
on a hill dominating the whole Valdera.
|
|
Volterra
holds many monuments and palaces which testify its glorious past and
to walk through the silent streets hidden by the walls is a unforgettable
experience: noble façades, artisan workshops, Etruscan and
Roman arches are enclosed in a beautiful urban centre. The first traces
of settlements go back to the Neolithic era, Volterra then became
a powerful Etruscan lucumony thanks to the mineral resources in the
underground and finally a Roman municipality. Volterra got its actual
enchanting face during the Middle Ages, when the main monuments of
the city were built. The city decayed after the Florentine conquering
and only recovered in the 18th century when the Lorena dynasty started
promoting the local businesses.
The most important artisan activity of Volterra is the working
of alabaster. The artisans in their workshops in the old town manufacture
unique masterpieces which are exported all over the world. The idea
of an Ecomuseum dell’Alabastro in Volterra is to preserve the
memory of the artistic handicraft in alabaster. The museum features
an itinerary which connects the extraction areas with the museum where
you can see the history, the methods and the tools which are used
for the working of the stone. The remains from the Etruscan period
are to be found on the top of the hill of Volterra, where the Necropolis
was located. Just next to the Archaeological Park “Enrico Fiumi”
along the remains of the Etruscan walls, the area still preserves
the groundings of two temples and minor buildings from the III century
b. C., and a cistern from the Roman era. In the heart of the Etruscan
city you find the Fortezza Medicea built by Lorenzo il Magnifico,
next to the old fortress from the 14th century.
The fortress has always served as a prison and is still used
for this purpose. The Museo Etrusco hosts one of the biggest collections
in Italy with more than 600 funeral urns, sepulture outfits, examples
of funeral sculptures, ceramics and both Etruscan and Roman epigraphs.
A special section of the Museum is dedicated to the ancient techniques
of working the alabaster.
Piazza dei Priori, extraordinary example of medieval architecture
and restructured in the 19th century, is the heart of Volterra. The
square is surrounded by the Palazzo dei Priori, the oldest remaining
town-hall in Tuscany which was built between 1208 and 1254, and the
Palazzo Pretorio next to the Torre del Porcellino. On the other side
of the square you find the Palazzo Incontri and the Palazzo Vescovile,
built in the 14th century and now housing the Museo dell’Opera
del Duomo di Arte Sacra. The Duomo of Volterra has a façade
from the XIII century, perhaps to be attributed to Andrea Pisano,
and is an enlargement of a primitive church which was consecrated
in 1120. The inside of the Duomo was completely transformed in the
16th century, and many decorations, both on the façade and
inside , were added at the middle of the 19th century when the church
was restructured. The Duomo preserves many artworks from between the
XIII and XV century. Next to the Duomo you find the Battistero, an
octangonal plant decorated with white and green marble stripes. The
portal of the Duomo is Romanesque, while the cupola dates back to
the 16th century and perhaps was designed by Brunelleschi.
The Pinacoteca and the Museo Civico di Volterra are located
in the Palazzo Solaini, a building from the 16th century designed
by Antonio Sangallo. The collection features paintings, sculptures,
furnishings, coins and medals from between the XII and the XIX century,
mostly from collections of public agencies which could not guarantee
the conservation and the protection of the items. To end with, do
not miss to visit the Teatro Romano di Volterra, discovered in 1950.
The theatre was built between the I century b.C. and the I century
a.C., and today you can see the cavea with a capacity up to 1700 spectators,
the proscenium, the stage and part of the portico. |
|
 |
|
