Things to see in Volterra

Volterra is a beautiful walled city in Tuscany, Italy built on the top of a hill. The town is built over one of the Twelve Cities of the ancient Etruscan civilisation and has some of the original gates from that era still standing along with a dedicated museum packed with Etruscan and Roman relics.

The town was used as a location in Twilight: New Moon, though these scenes were filmed in neighboring Montepulciano.

Porta all'Arco. The town's best site is this gate built of massive volcanic stones in the 4th century BC. It's part of the town walls that were 4 miles around, twice as big as it is now. Duomo. Great pulpit and altar. Notice how the entrance is through the baptistry, you couldn't enter until you were baptized. Free. Sacred Art Museum (next to Duomo). A small 3-room museum of church art. Etruscan Museum (Museo Etrusco Guarnacc). Pinacoteca. Roman Theater. Built in 10 BC. and has great acoustics, plus a great view, but a just as good view can be found at the city wall promenade for free. Palazzo dei Priori. Volterra's city hall is probably the oldest in Tuscany, at nearly 800 years, and inspired the design for the Palazzo Vecchio in Florence. The lavishly painted city council chambers are open to the public when not being used for official meetings. Medici Fortress. This unusual fortress is actually a prison for mob figures from Sicily. The park nearby was the Acropolis of Volterra for 3000 years until Florence burned it down and turned it into a park.

Via Matteotti is the main street of the town, named for a socialist leader killed by the fascists.