Things to do 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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Cathedral
The cathedral was built in the 12th and 13th centuries. Highlights include a small fresco, the Procession of the Magi by Benozzo Gozzoli, behind a terracotta Nativity group tucked away in the oratory at the beginning of the north aisle. There is also an exquisite 15th-century tabernacle by Mino da Fiesole that rises above the high altar. Just west of the cathedral, the 13th-century baptistry features a small marble font by Andrea Sansovino.
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Le Balze
Le Balze is a deep, eroded limestone ravine about 2km northwest of the city centre that has claimed several churches since the Middle Ages as the buildings tumbled into its deep gullies. A 14th-century monastery, perched near the precipice, seems perilously close to continuing the tradition. To get there, head out through Porta San Francesco, the city's northwestern gate, along Via San Lino and follow its continuation, Borgo Santo Stefano, then Borgo San Giusto.
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Osteria Il Ponte San Lorenzo
Around 15km out of town, you can get superb, home-style cooking and ambitious set menus at this rustic restaurant. Take the SS439 road south, heading towards Pomarance. About 3km beyond Saline di Volterra you enter San Lorenzo; the osteria is the highlight of this tiny, blink-and-you'll-miss-it village. They have a few rooms and the accommodation price includes breakfast if you're too bloated to drive back to Volterra.
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Treasures of Tuscany to Siena
8 days (Volterra)
Discover Tuscany on a walk through villages, vineyards and olive groves.
Not LP reviewed
from USD$1,420 -
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Palazzo dei Priori
The 13th-century Palazzo dei Priori, the oldest seat of local government in Tuscany, is believed to have been a model for Florence’s Palazzo Vecchio. Highlights are a fresco of the Crucifixion by Piero Francesco Fiorentino on the staircase, the magnificent cross-vaulted council hall and a small antechamber on the 1st floor giving a bird’s-eye view of the piazza below.
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Trattoria il Poggio
A popular restaurant where the cheery waitresses bustle around and find time to chat with the regulars between dashes to the electric dumbwaiter raising food from the subterranean kitchen. There's a good set menu, an outdoor terrace and rich dishes such as scampi and rocket, or ravioli with asparagus and ham in a parmesan cream sauce.
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Parco Archeologico
To its west of Fortezza Medicea is the pleasant Parco Archeologico, site of the ancient Acropolis (open 10:30 to 17:30 mid-March to October). Little of archaeological interest has survived, apart from a few battered Etruscan tombs, but the park has swings and things for kids, and it's a good place for a picnic.
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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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Il Porcellino
Despite its dangerous proximity to Piazza dei Priori and its tourist beacon, postersized menu, this place dishes out decent meals at very reasonable prices. The menu includes game dishes, seafood and some surprises, like boar with olives. There is also a variety of set menus.
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Quovadis
If you can't survive without a shot of the dark nectar, this is the only place for miles around where you can get draught Guinness. The garden is pleasant on hot summer nights and rumour has it there's even an Irish owner somewhere in the background.
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Pizzeria da Nanni
A hole-in-the-wall-plus – the plus being the excellent pizzas that Nanni spatulas from his oven while sustaining a vivid line of backchat, notably with his wife. Unscheduled closings are increasing as the couple eases into retirement.
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Ristorante Don Beta
With four truffle-based primi piatti and five secondi enhanced by their fragrance, this is the place to sample the prized fungus, which abounds – insofar as it abounds anywhere – in the woods around Volterra.
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Osteria dei Poeti
Get here right at noon, before the business lunchers fill the last seat. Typical Tuscan fare includes antipasto del poeta (€15), a rich assortment of canapés, cheeses and cold cuts that is an unexpected delight.
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Web & Wine
At once an internet point (€3 per hour), a stylish enoteca (with a good selection of tipples), a snack stop (that also serves full meals) and a hip designer cafe with underlit Etruscan remains.
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Palazzo Pretorio
The Palazzo Pretorio is from the same era as the Palazzo dei Priori. From it thrusts the Torre del Porcellino (Piglet's Tower), so named because of the wild boar protruding from its upper section.
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Museo Diocesano d’Arte Sacra
The Museo Diocesano d’Arte Sacra merits a peek for its collection of ecclesiastical vestments, gold reliquaries and works by Andrea della Robbia and Rosso Fiorentino.
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Roman Theatre
On Volterra’s northern edge lies the Roman Theatre, a well-preserved complex complete with a Roman bathhouse.
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Fortezza Medicea
The 14th-century Fortezza Medicea, later altered by Lorenzo Il Magnifico, is nowadays a prison (admission one felony).
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Visola del Gusto
Gelato lovers look no further: this place serves the freshest in town, starting at €1.50 for a small cone.
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Baptistry
Just west of the cathedral is the 13th-century baptistry with a small marble font by Andrea Sansovino.
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Pinacoteca Comunale
The Pinacoteca Comunale houses a modest collection of local art.
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Trattoria del Sacco Fiorentino
A great little vaulted trattoria that serves up imaginative dishes with a happy selection of local wines. Try the piccione al vin santo e radicchio rosso (pigeon baked with red radicchio and wine) or the critical mass of flavour in the beef tartare with artichokes and fresh onions.
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