Museum sights in Volterra
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Ecomuseo dell'Alabastro
As befits a town that has hewn the precious rock from nearby quarries since Etruscan times, Volterra has its own alabaster museum, the Ecomuseo dell'Alabastro, which shares the same building as the Pinacoteca. On the ground floor are contemporary creations, including a finely chiselled mandolin and a bizarre fried egg, while on the two upper floors are choice examples from Etruscan times onwards and a re-created artisan's workshop.
From the top-floor windows, there are gorgeous views of the surrounding countryside.
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Museo Etrusco Guarnacci
In terms of content, this is one of Italy’s finest Etruscan Museums. Much of the collection is displayed in the old-style didactic manner, though exhibits on the upper levels have been artfully enriched. The multilingual audioguide (€3) is worth the investment.
All exhibits were unearthed locally. They include a vast collection of some 600 funerary urns carved mainly from alabaster and tufa and are displayed according to subject and period. The best examples (those dating from later periods) are on the 2nd and 3rd floors.
Original touches are the Ombra della Sera bronze ex-voto, a strange, elongated nude figure that would fit harmoniously in any museum of modern art, …
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