Volterra, City of Alabaster

 Yesterday we drove to Volterra. The ancient town (Villanovan, Etruscan, Roman, etc.) is located about two hours south of Capannori and Lucca. We avoided the autostrada and meandered there through the countryside, first through the Compitese and then through the Colline Pisani to Volterra which rises 1,800 ft. above the valley floor.  We were a good ways up the hill when I took this picture. You can barely see the walls of the fort towering up above the new town below.

We found a parking place outside the walls and right next to the parcheggio was an archaeological site. It contains the remains of a Roman amphitheater and baths. Here you can see the town walls in the upper right hand portion of the picture.

This picture was taken from the top of the wall referenced in the previous picture. You can see the remains of the seating and the theater itself. Behind the large structure were the baths.

They have been working on the site since the 1950s. This portion is quite spectacular.

Here you can see the Pisan Hills stretching away to the north beyond the town.

We arrived in Volterra at about 1o'clock. Here is a picture of a father and daughter going home from school. Most children get out at 12:30 and it is common for a parent or grandparent to meet them at the school building and escort them home. You often see the adult carrying the child's backpack. If you look closely you can also see the royal blue smock the girl is wearing.  All preschool and elementary school students wear a smock to school, usually black or blue for boys and pink or blue for girls. The schools must decide the colors because it varies.

There were lots of interesting storefronts in Volterra. Many of them sold alabaster sculptures and Etruscan inspired jewelry. There were also quite a few wine shops.

We walked by this open door. Beyond it you can see the old peeling frescoes on the wall of the entry. The exterior doors were beautifully varnished but inside it looked a little "shabby chic."

This florist shop had a beautiful array of colorful plants outside. If you enlarge the photo you can see that the object in the center is a carefully cross stitched piece with the name and birth date of a baby girl. This is an elaborate version of an Italian birth announcement. On one building we saw white painted branches tied with blue ribbons indicating a new baby boy lived there.

This shop sells all sorts of peppers and pepper infused oils and other products.

Most of the streets in Volterra are fairly narrow, medieval lanes. However, here the buildings opened up into a broad piazza. The torture museum is located here. We passed on visiting it.

We had lunch at a bar not far from the above piazza and then wandered around the Volterra streets some more. It was a beautiful day, the first really hot day we have had.  We came across this building that I later read was the inspiration for most Tuscan town halls including the Palazzo Vecchio in Florence. You can see all the plaques on the wall, mostly coats of arms of different sorts.

Here is a closer look at two of the most elaborate medallions. I like the Della Robbia style wreaths of painted terra cotta leaves and fruit.

We found the Volterra duomo (cathedral) which is tucked in behind the town hall. It was quite elaborate inside and had several wonderful paintings from the 1500s. This is an Annunciation surrounded by smaller scenes painted on wooden plaques.

This picture is a lovely scene of Mary and Jesus surrounded by the household women. It is wonderfully lifelike and has interesting details such as a cat in the lower right hand corner.

This is the front of the duomo. It is pretty plain compared to some churches in Tuscany (e.g. Pisa). However, Volterra produced six of the early popes including St. Linus who was the second pope after St. Peter.

Here is a view of the countryside to the south. Volterra is built up on a knob of sandy soil and over the centuries erosion has been a problem. Nonetheless it towers over the surrounding countryside and can be seen from many miles away. Once up in the town the wind seems to always be blowing. It was a bit hazy yesterday but on a really clear day the views must be even more stunning.

Here is an example of one of the streets in Volterra. This road is rather wide because it leads up from one of the original city gates.

Many of the streets in Volterra are much narrower with buildings curving this way and that and seeming to almost touch one another in places.

Almost since we arrived the air has constantly been filled with floating bits of fluff. Some days it looks almost like it is snowing. Here is a doormat in Volterra that had collected quite a pile of the fluffy tree debris.

Spring is poppy season in Italy and you see thick bunches of bright red blossoms along the roads in many places. I tried to take a photo as we were moving but this is the best I got. I read that poppy seeds can last in the ground for hundreds of years and grow when the soil is disturbed. That is apparently why poppies became the symbol of World War I in France and Britain. During the war the bombing and digging of the trenches disturbed lots of seeds so many of the fields sprouted masses of poppies in the wake of the battles. That may also explain why so many poppies grow along the roadside here. The weed whackers cut into the earth as they cut the grass thus disturbing the poppy seeds and promoting growth.

It was difficult to take a photo that really showed the panorama from Volterra. So I took the following video. The voices you hear are two men who were chatting nearby.

Although yesterday was beautiful today has been mixed. It started out sunny and warm then became overcast and then we had a rip roaring thunder and lightening storm with strong winds and masses of rain. Now the clouds are thinning and it is getting sunny again. It's a good thing because shortly I am heading off to do a Friday marcia with Mary. We will meet Dom and Orlando later for dinner.

This weekend we are going to Lake Como for a Concours d'Elegance--juried classic car show. Lots of photos and a post about that early next week.