If you went to Tuscany and you didn’t see Volterra, you’ve missed a great chance.

So ancient to be rooted in an earlier era than the Etruscan and the hill was inhabited before the Iron Age.

Walking along its streets, the tourist can notice the flow of the history, from the Etruscan era (ponte dell’Arco, porta Diana and part of the city walls), to the Roman era (the semicircular theatre) and the Middle Ages with its splendid buildings as the Cathedral, the Palazzo dei Priori and the Medici fortress.

If you would like to lose yourself in the mists of time, try to visit the Etruscan museum “Guarnacci”, where the famous “ombra della sera” (the shadow of the night) deserves a visit by itself.

Don’t forget that Volterra is renowned also for the extraction and the manufacturing of the alabaster that is still worked by skilful craftsmen

A short history:
The first settlements date back to the Villanova period (from about 1100 BC to 700 BC).
It became one of the most important cities of the Etruscan league, its walls expanded up to 1,8 km round.
In 4th century BC it attained the top of its splendor; then began a gradual decline due to the growing power of Rome.
In 5th century AD it was a bishop’s residence; afterwards it was ruled by the Lombards and the Franks, and from 9th century by the episcopate.
After other upheavals, it followed the fate of the Grand Ducky of Tuscany.
From 1808 to 1814 it was a Napoleonic sub prefecture and after a referendum in 1860 it entered the Kingdom of Italy.

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Volterra
However Volterra is so famous that all you have to do is to digit the word “Volterra” to obtain as mush info as you want.