Volterra and
the Etruscans

Duration: 6 hours.

Starts: Your hotel, 10:30am

Walking level: Medium (hilly).

Included: Private 7 seater van, driver-guide for the whole day.

Just the drive to Volterra is a special one: in fact it offers a magnificent panorama of the gentle undulating hills, here and there abruptly interrupted by the BALZE (crags): like gashes in the slopes moulded by the natural erosion of sand and clay. In the heart of a mining region which yields alabaster as well as a variety of minerals, Volterra With its 3.000 years of civilization,is one of the most important centres in Tuscany. It rises on a hilly pliocene ridge, between two valleys,in the province of Pisa. Fortified by two defensive walls, one Etruscan and the other Medieval, at the very first look it shows an incredibly well preserved medieval aspect.

Right upon your arrival, you will have the impression of stepping into the past, of being in a particular place with its narrow Medieval streets and the enigma of its Etruscan origins. The walking tour will feature all of the city highlights: from the Etruscan period you will see the gate (4th century b.C.) and the Acropolis, of the Roman times, the theatre and the baths; finally, from the Middle Ages you will see some of the noble buildings as the Palazzo dei Priori, and the Palazzo Pretorio, besides the Cathedral, the church of San Michele and the stunning house-towers.

The tour will conclude with a visit of the Etruscan Museum, one of the most important in Italy for its rich Etruscan-Roman patrimony. It will also be possible to visit the Historical Museum of Alabaster, with its collection of about 300 alabaster artefacts from the 18th century to the present day. In fact, the products of the traditional craftsmanship in alabaster are one of Italy's leading crafts. Whenever you wish to make a lunch stop, your driver guide will be glad to suggest some of the best local trattorias and enoteche (winebar) to get some typical dishes which owe to truffle and vegetable soups their deserved fame. At the end of the excursion your driver guide will take you back to your hotel.