Map: Volterra & San Gimignano Area
This fine duo of hill towns—perhaps Italy’s most underrated and most overrated, respectively—sit just a half-hour drive apart in the middle of the triangle formed by three major destinations: Florence, Siena, and Pisa. Volterra and San Gimignano are both worth a brief visit, but either one also works well as a home-base for the region. (To choose between them, see “Planning Your Time,” later.)
San Gimignano is the region’s glamour girl, getting all of the fawning attention from passing tour buses. And a quick stroll through its core, in the shadows of its 14 surviving medieval towers, is a goose-pimply delight. But once you’ve seen it, you’ve seen it...and that’s when you head for Volterra.
Volterra isn’t as eye-catching as San Gimignano, but has an unmistakable authenticity and a surprising depth, richly rewarding travelers adventurous enough to break out of the San Gimignano rut. With its many engaging museums, Volterra offers the best sightseeing of all of Italy’s small hill towns.
These towns work best for drivers, who can easily reach both of them in one go. Volterra is farther off the main Florence-Siena road, but it’s on the main road connecting that corridor to the coast, and closer to Pisa and Lucca.
If you’re relying on public transportation, both towns are reachable—to a point. Visiting either one by bus from Florence or Siena requires a longer-than-it-should-be trek with a transfer in a gloomy valley town (Colle di Val d’Elsa for Volterra, Poggibonsi for San Gimignano; see each town’s “Connections” section for details). San Gimignano is better-connected, but Volterra merits the additional effort. Note that while these towns are only about a 30-minute drive apart, they’re poorly connected to each other by public transit (requiring an infrequent two-hour connection).
Volterra and San Gimignano are a handy yin-and-yang duo. Ideally, you’ll overnight in one town, and visit the other either as a side-trip or en route. There are pros and cons to overnighting in either town: Sleeping in Volterra lets you really settle into a charming, real-feeling burg with good restaurants, but forces you to visit San Gimignano when it’s busiest (during the day). Sleeping in San Gimignano lets you enjoy that gorgeous town when it’s relatively quiet, but some visitors find it too quiet—less interesting to linger in than Volterra. Ultimately I’d aim to sleep in Volterra, and try to visit San Gimignano as early or late in the day as is practical (to mitigate crowds there).
Encircled by impressive walls and topped with a grand fortress, Volterra perches high above the rich farmland surrounding it. More than 2,000 years ago, Volterra was one of the most important Etruscan cities, and much larger than we see today. Greek-trained Etruscan artists worked here, leaving a significant stash of art, particularly funerary urns. Eventually Volterra was absorbed into the Roman Empire, and for centuries it was an independent city-state. Volterra fought bitterly against the Florentines, but like many Tuscan towns, it lost in the end and was given a fortress atop the city to “protect” its citizens.
Unlike other famous towns in Tuscany, Volterra feels neither cutesy nor touristy...but real, vibrant, and almost oblivious to the allure of the tourist dollar. Millennia past its prime, Volterra seems to have settled into a well-worn groove; locals are resistant to change. At a recent town meeting about whether to run high-speed Internet cable to the town, a local grumbled, “The Etruscans didn’t need it—why do we?” This stubbornness helps make Volterra a refreshing change of pace from its more commercial neighbors. It also boasts some interesting sights for a small town, from a remarkably intact ancient Roman theater, to a finely decorated Pisan Romanesque cathedral, to an excellent museum of Etruscan artifacts. All in all, Volterra is my favorite small town in Tuscany.
Compact and walkable, Volterra (pop. 11,000) stretches out from the pleasant Piazza dei Priori to the old city gates. Be ready for lots of steep walking; while the main square and main drag are fairly level, nearly everything else involves a lot of up or down.
The helpful TI is on the main square, at Piazza dei Priori 19 (daily 9:30-13:00 & 14:00-18:00, tel. 0588-87257, www.volterratur.it). The TI’s excellent €5 audioguide narrates 20 stops (2-for-1 discount on audioguides with this book).
By Public Transport: Buses stop at Piazza Martiri della Libertà in the town center. Train travelers can reach the town with a short bus ride (see “Volterra Connections,” later.)
By Car: Don’t attempt to drive into the town center—a “ZTL” limited-traffic zone marked with a red circle—or you’ll get a huge fine. Instead, use one of the numbered parking lots that ring the town walls. The easiest (and most expensive) choice—always open to visitors—is P1, the underground garage at Piazza Martiri della Libertà (€1.50/hour, €11/24 hours); parking here, you’ll pop out right in the heart of town. Less expensive and farther out are P4, the handy but small (and often full) lot near the Roman Theater and Porta Fiorentina gate; and the unnumbered bus parking lot (below the road to San Gimignano). Also behind town, lot P3 is free, but requires a steep climb from the Porta di Docciola gate up into town. For a longer but more gradual climb from this lot, you can walk along the road around to Porta Fiorentina. Other lots—and possibly even some of these—are designated for residents only, but this is constantly in flux (due to frequent landslides and local politics). Before you park anywhere but P1, look for signs or ask locals to ensure it’s OK.
Market Day: The market is on Saturday morning near the Roman Theater (8:00-13:00, at parking lot P5; in winter, it’s right on Piazza dei Priori). The TI hands out a list of other market days in the area.
Festivals: Volterra’s Medieval Festival takes place on the third and fourth Sundays of August. Fall is a popular time for food festivals—check with the TI for dates and events planned.
Internet Access: Several cafés around town offer free Wi-Fi to customers. If you need a terminal, head for Enjoy Café Internet Point, right by the main bus stop (€3/hour, free Wi-Fi with purchase, daily 6:30-24:00, Piazza dei Martiri 3, tel. 0588-80530).
Laundry: The handy self-service Lavanderia Azzurra is just off the main square (€4 wash, €4 dry, change machine, daily 7:00-23:00, Via Roma 7, tel. 0588-80030).
Annie Adair (also listed individually, next) and her colleagues offer a great one-hour, English-only introductory walking tour of Volterra for €10. The walk touches on Volterra’s Etruscan, Roman, and medieval history, as well as the contemporary cultural scene (daily April-July and Sept-Oct, rain or shine—Thu-Tue at 18:00, Wed at 12:30; meet in front of alabaster shop on Piazza Martiri della Libertà, no need to reserve—just show up, they need a minimum of 3 people, or €30—to make the tour go, www.volterrawalkingtour.com or www.tuscantour.com, info@volterrawalkingtour.com). There’s no better way to spend €10 and one hour in this city.
American Annie Adair is an excellent guide for private, in-depth tours of Volterra (€60/hour, minimum 2 hours). Her husband Francesco, a sommelier, leads a one-hour “Wine Tasting 101” crash course in sampling Tuscan wines, held at a local wine bar (€50 per group plus cost of wine). Annie and Francesco also organize Chianti and other regional wine tours and even Tuscan weddings for Americans (tel. 0588-086-201, mobile 347-143-5004, www.tuscantour.com, info@tuscantour.com).
▲Etruscan Arch (Porta all’Arco)
“Artisan Lane” (Via Porta all’Arco)
Pinacoteca and Alabaster Museum
▲▲Etruscan Museum (Museo Etrusco Guarnacci)
▲La Vena di Vino (Wine-Tasting with Bruno and Lucio)
Medici Fortress and Archaeological Park
I’ve arranged these sights as a handy little town walk, connected by directions on foot. Not all the sights will interest everyone, so skim the listings to decide which detours appeal to you.
• Begin your visit of town at the Etruscan Arch. To find it, go all the way down to the bottom of Via Porta all’Arco (you’ll find the top of this street between Piazza Martiri della Libertà, with the town bus stop, and the main square, Piazza dei Priori).
Volterra’s most famous sight is its Etruscan arch, built of massive, volcanic tuff stones in the fourth century B.C. (for more information on tuff, see the sidebar on here). Volterra’s original wall was four miles around—twice the size of the wall that encircles it today. With 25,000 people, Volterra was a key trading center and one of 12 leading towns in the confederation of Etruria Propria. The three seriously eroded heads, dating from the first century B.C., show what happens when you leave something outside for 2,000 years. The newer stones are part of the 13th-century city wall, which incorporated parts of the much older Etruscan wall.
A plaque just outside remembers June 30, 1944. That night, Nazi forces were planning to blow up the arch to slow the Allied advance. To save their treasured landmark, Volterrans ripped up the stones that pave Via Porta all’Arco and plugged the gate, managing to convince the Nazi commander that there was no need to blow up the arch. Today, all the stones are back in their places, and like silent heroes, they welcome you through the oldest standing Etruscan gate into Volterra. Locals claim this as the only surviving round arch of the Etruscan age; most experts believe this is where the Romans got the idea for using a keystone in their arches.
• Go through the arch and head up Via Porta all’Arco, which I like to call...
This steep and atmospheric strip is lined with interesting shops featuring the work of artisans and producers. Because of its alabaster heritage, Volterra attracted craftsmen and artists, who brought with them a rich variety of handiwork (shops generally open Mon-Sat 10:00-13:00 & 16:00-19:00, closed Sun; the TI produces a free booklet called Handicraft in Volterra).
From the Etruscan Arch, browse your way up the hill, checking out these shops and items (listed from bottom to top): alabaster shops (#57, #50, and #45); book bindery and papery (#26); jewelry (#25); etchings (#23); and bronze work (#6).
• Reaching the top of Via Porta all’Arco, turn left and walk a few steps into Volterra’s main square, Piazza dei Priori. It’s dominated by the...
Volterra’s City Hall (c. 1209) claims to be the oldest of any Tuscan city-state. It clearly inspired the more famous Palazzo Vecchio in Florence. Town halls like this are emblematic of an era when city-states were powerful. They were architectural exclamation points declaring that, around here, no pope or emperor called the shots. Towns such as Volterra were truly city-states—proudly independent and relatively democratic. They had their own armies, taxes, and even weights and measures. Notice the horizontal “cane” cut into the City Hall wall (right of the door). For a thousand years, this square hosted a market, and the “cane” was the local yardstick. You can pay to see the council chambers, and to climb to the top of the bell tower.
Cost and Hours: €1.50 for council chambers, €2 tower climb, mid-March-Oct daily 10:30-17:30, Nov-mid-March Sat-Sun only 10:00-16:30.
Visiting the Palazzo: When not in use for meetings or weddings, the building’s historic High Council Hall—fine arches lavishly frescoed and lit with fun dragon lamps, as they have been for centuries of town meetings—are open to visitors. The adjacent Sala della Giunta is a simpler, smaller meeting room with bare stone walls.
The adventurous can continue up to the top of the tower (159 steps total from the front door). Partway up, you’ll find a modest exhibit about the history of the town, including a model of Volterra in the late 13th century (looking much as it does today) and a wooden cutaway model of the tower itself. Then you’ll huff up a tight, winding, metal staircase to a small platform with panoramic views of the city and surrounding countryside. They don’t let visitors go up on the hour or half-hour, when the eardrum-piercing bell clangs.
• Facing the City Hall, notice the black-and-white-striped wall to the right (set back from the square). The door in that wall leads into Volterra’s...
This church is not as elaborate as its cousin in Pisa, but the simple 13th-century facade and the interior (rebuilt in the late 16th century), with its central nave flanked by monolithic stone columns, are beautiful examples of the Pisan Romanesque style.
Cost and Hours: Free, daily 8:00-12:30 & 15:00-18:00, Nov-March until 17:00, closed Fri 15:00-16:00 while the cleaners religiously perform their duties.
Visiting the Church: Enter through the door off Piazza dei Priori (technically the back door), and take a moment to let your eyes adjust to this dark, Romanesque space. (If you come through the main door around on Piazza San Giovanni, do this tour in reverse.) The interior was decorated mostly in the late 16th century, during Florentine rule under the Medici family. Their coat of arms, with its distinctive balls (called palle, representing the “pills” of the Medici—or “Medics”), is repeated multiple times throughout the building.
Head down into the nave to face the main altar. Up the stairs just to the right is a dreamy, painted and gilded-wood Deposition (Jesus being taken down from the cross), restored to its original form. Carved in 1228, a generation before Giotto, it shows emotion and motion way ahead of its time (€1 buys some light).
The glowing windows in the transept and behind the altar are sheets of alabaster. These, along with the recorded Gregorian chants, add to the church’s wonderful ambience.
The 12th-century marble pulpit, partway down the nave, is also beautifully carved. In the relief panel of the Last Supper, all the apostles are together except Judas, who’s under the table with the evil dragon (his name is the only one not carved into the relief).
Just past the pulpit on the right (at the Rosary Chapel), check out the Annunciation by Fra Bartolomeo (who was a student of Fra Angelico and painted this in 1497). Bartolomeo delicately gives worshippers a way to see Mary “conceived by the Holy Spirit.” Note the vibrant colors, exaggerated perspective, and Mary’s contrapposto pose—all attributes of the Renaissance.
At the end of the nave, the large chapel to the right of the doors has painted terra-cotta statue groups of the Nativity and the Adoration of the Magi, thought to be the work of master ceramists Luca and Andrea della Robbia. Luca is credited with inventing the glazing formula that makes his inventive sculptures shine even in poorly lit interiors. At the end of the chapel, ponder a statue with an unusual but poignant theme: Mary, Mater Dolorosa (“mother in pain”), literally pierced by swords as she suffers the agony of seeing her crucified son’s body.
Tuff (tufo in Italian) is a light-colored volcanic rock that is common in Italy. A part of Tuscany is even called the “Tuff Area.” The seven hills of Rome are made of tuff, and quarried blocks of this stone can be seen in the Colosseum, Pantheon, and Castel Sant’Angelo. Just outside of Rome, the catacombs were carved from tuff. Sorrento rises above the sea on a tuff outcrop. Orvieto, Civita di Bagnoregio (pictured), and many other hill towns perch on bluffs of tuff.
Italy’s early inhabitants, including the Etruscans and Romans, carved caves, tunnels, burial niches, and even roads out of tuff. Blocks of this rock were quarried to make houses and walls. Tuff is soft and easy to carve when it’s first exposed to air, but hardens later, which makes it a good building stone.
Italy’s tuff-producing volcanoes resulted from a lot of tectonic-plate bumping and grinding. This violent geologic history is reflected in Italy’s volcanoes, like Vesuvius and Etna, and earthquakes such as the 2009 quake in the L’Aquila area northeast of Rome.
Tuff is actually just a big hardened pile of old volcanic ash. When volcanoes hold magma that contains a lot of water, they erupt explosively (think heat + water = steam = POW!). The exploded rock material gets blasted out as hot volcanic ash, which settles on the surrounding landscape, piles up, and over time welds together into the rock called tuff.
So when you’re visiting an area in Italy of ancient caves or catacombs built out of this material, you’ll know that at least once (and maybe more) upon a time, it was a site of a lot of volcanic activity.
To see a classically Pisan space, step outside the door into Piazza San Giovanni. A common arrangement in the Middle Ages—when Pisa, not Florence, was the big regional influence here—was for the church to face the baptistery (you couldn’t enter the church until you were baptized)...and for the hospital to face the cemetery (now the site of the local ambulance corps). These buildings all overlooked a single square. That’s how it is in Pisa, and that’s how it is here. Step into the baptistery and look up into the vast, empty space—plenty of room for the Holy Spirit.
• Exit the cathedral out the back door—the way you entered—and into today’s main square, Piazza dei Priori. Face the City Hall, and go down the street to the left; after one short block, you’re standing at the head (on the left) of...
The town’s main drag, named after the popular Socialist leader Giacomo Matteotti (killed by the Fascists in 1924), provides a good cultural scavenger hunt.
At #1, on the left, is a typical Italian bank security door. (Step in and say, “Beam me up, Scotty.”) Back outside, stand at the corner, and look up and all around. Find the medieval griffin torch holder—symbol of Volterra, looking down Via Matteotti—and imagine it holding a lit torch. The pharmacy sports the symbol of its medieval guild. Across the street from the bank, #2 is the base of what was a San Gimignano-style fortified Tuscan tower. Look up and imagine heavy beams cantilevered out, supporting extra wooden rooms and balconies crowding out over the street. Throughout Tuscany, today’s stark and stony old building fronts once supported a tangle of wooden extensions.
As you head down Via Matteotti, notice how the doors show centuries of refitting work. Doors that once led to these extra rooms are now partially bricked up to make windows. Contemplate urban density in the 14th century, before the plague thinned out the population. Be careful: There’s a wild boar (a local delicacy) at #10.
At #12, on the right, notice the line of doorbells: This typical palace, once the home of a single rich family, is now occupied by many middle-class families. After the social revolution in the 18th century and the rise of the middle class, former palaces were condominium-ized. Even so, like in Dr. Zhivago, the original family still lives here. Apartment #1 is the home of Count Guidi.
On the right at #16, pop in to the alabaster showroom. Alabaster, mined nearby, has long been a big industry here. Volterra alabaster—softer and more porous than marble—was sliced thin to serve as windows for Italy’s medieval churches.
At #19, the recommended La Vecchia Lira is a lively cafeteria. The Bar L’Incontro across the street is a favorite for pastries; in the summer, they sell homemade gelato, while in the winter they make chocolates.
Across the way, up Vicolo delle Prigioni, is a fun bakery (Panificio Rosetti). They’re happy to sell small quantities if you want to try the local cantuccini (almond biscotti) or another treat (closed 14:00-17:30, Sat after 14:00, and all day Sun).
Continue to the end of the block. At #51, on the left, a bit of Etruscan wall is artfully used to display more alabaster art. And #56A is the alabaster art gallery of Paolo Sabatini, who specializes in unique, contemporary sculptures.
Locals gather early each evening at Osteria dei Poeti (at #57) for some of the best cocktails in town—served with free munchies. The cinema is across the street. Movies in Italy are rarely in versione originale; Italians are used to getting their movies dubbed into Italian. To bring some culture to this little town, they also show live broadcasts of operas and concerts (advertised in the window).
At #66, another Tuscan tower marks the end of the street. This noble house has a ground floor with no interior access to the safe upper floors. Rope ladders were used to get upstairs. The tiny door was wide enough to let in your skinny friends...but definitely not anyone wearing armor and carrying big weapons.
Across the little square stands the ancient Church of St. Michael. After long years of barbarian chaos, the Lombards moved in from the north and asserted law and order in places like Volterra. That generally included building a Christian church on the old Roman forum to symbolically claim and tame the center of town. (Locals still call this San Michele in Foro—“in the forum.”) The church standing here today is Romanesque, dating from the 12th century. Around the right side, find the crude little guy and the smiling octopus under its eaves—they’ve been making faces at the passing crowds for 800 years.
• Three more sights—Palazzo Viti (fancy old palace), the Pinacoteca (gallery of gilded altarpieces), and the Alabaster Museum (within the Pinacoteca building)—are a short stroll down Via dei Sarti: From the end of Via Matteotti, turn left. If you want to skip straight down to the Roman Theater, just head straight from the end of Via Matteotti onto Via Guarnacci, then turn left when you get to the Porta Fiorentina gate. To head directly to Volterra’s top sight, the Etruscan Museum, just turn around, walk a block back up Via Matteotti, turn left on Via Gramsci, and follow it all the way through Piazza XX Settembre up Via Don Minzoni to the museum.
Go behind the rustic, heavy stone walls of the city and see how the nobility lived (in this case, rich from 19th-century alabaster wealth). One of the finest private residential buildings in Italy, with 12 rooms open to the public, Palazzo Viti feels remarkably lived in—because it is. You’ll also find Signora Viti herself selling admission tickets. It’s no wonder this time warp is so popular with Italian movie directors. Remember, you’re helping keep a noble family in leotards.
Cost and Hours: €5, April-Oct daily 10:00-13:00 & 14:30-18:30, closed Nov-March, Via dei Sarti 41, tel. 0588-84047, www.palazzoviti.it.
Visiting the Palazzo: The elegant interior is compact and well-described by the loaner English descriptions. You’ll climb up a stately staircase, buy your ticket, and head into the grand ballroom. From here, you’ll tour the blue-hued dining room (with slice-of-life Chinese scenes painted on rice paper); the salon of battles (with warfare paintings on the walls); and the long hall of temporary exhibits. Looping back, you’ll see the porcelain hall (decorated with priceless plates) and the inviting library (notice the delicate lamp with a finely carved alabaster lampshade). The Brachettone Salon is named for the local artist responsible for the small sketch of near-nudes hanging just left of the door into the next room. Bracchettone (from brache, “pants”) is the artistic nickname for Volterra-born Daniele Ricciarelli, who owns the dubious distinction of having painted all of those wispy loincloths over the genitalia of Michelangelo’s figures in the Sistine Chapel. (In this drawing, notice a similar aversion to showing the full monty...though everything but is fair game.) In the red room, portraits of the Viti boys face each other (hanging next to the doors). Your visit ends with bedrooms and a dressing room, making it easy to imagine how the other half lived...and, from November through March, presumably still does.
• A block past Palazzo Viti, also on Via dei Sarti, is the...
The Pinacoteca fills a 15th-century palace with fine paintings that feel more Florentine than Sienese—a reminder of whose domain this town was in. You’ll see roomfuls of gilded altarpieces and saintly statues, as well as a trio of striking High Renaissance altar paintings by Signorelli, Fiorentino, and Ghirlandaio. While this isn’t worth the entry price, if you’re visiting the Etruscan Museum, the combo-ticket gets you in here for just €2 extra.
Cost and Hours: €8, €10 combo-ticket includes Etruscan Museum, daily mid-March-Oct 9:00-19:00, Nov-mid-March 10:00-16:00, Via dei Sarti 1, no photos permitted, tel. 0588-87580.
Visiting the Museum: Begin with the Pinacoteca, and head upstairs to the first floor. If you go left, you’ll circle all the way around and save the best for last—but to cut to the chase, turn right at the landing and go directly into the best room (#11), with Luca Signorelli’s beautifully lit Annunciation (1491), an example of classic High Renaissance (from the town cathedral), and (to the right) Deposition from the Cross (1521), the groundbreaking Mannerist work by Rosso Fiorentino (note the elongated bodies and harsh emotional lighting and colors). In the adjacent room (#10), see Ghirlandaio’s Christ in Glory (1492). The two devout-looking kneeling women are actually pagan, pre-Christian Etruscan demigoddesses, Attinea and Greciniana, but the church identified them as obscure saints to make the painting acceptable. Rather than attempt to get locals to stop venerating them (as their images were all over town), the church simply sainted them. Upstairs, the second floor has three more rooms of similar art—huge frescoes and oil-on-wood paintings.
Back on the main floor, head through the fine, tranquil, cloister-like courtyard—with the remains of its original well—and enter the Alabaster Museum. With alabaster sculptures spread over three floors, the museum contains examples from Etruscan times until the present—but lacks English descriptions. The top floor displays stone-working tools and offers fine views. Etruscan pieces are on the middle floor, and modern sculptures—including an intriguing alabaster fried egg—are on the lower floor.
• Exiting the museum, turn right, then right again down the Passo del Gualduccio passage into the parking-lot square; at the end of this square, turn right and walk along the wall, with fine views of the...
Built in the first century B.C., this well-preserved theater has good acoustics. Because a fine aerial view is available from the city wall promenade, you may find it unnecessary to pay admission to enter. Belly up to the 13th-century wall and look down. The wall that you’re standing on divided the theater from the town center...so, naturally, the theater became the town dump. Over time, the theater was forgotten—covered in the garbage of Volterra. Luckily, it was rediscovered in the 1950s, by an administrator (and armchair historian) at the local mental hospital. Since they couldn’t secure government funding for the dig, the theater was first excavated by mental patients, who found the activity therapeutic.
The stage wall was standard Roman design—with three levels from which actors would appear: one level for mortals, one for heroes, and the top one for gods. Parts of two levels still stand. Gods leaped out onto the third level for the last time around the third century a.d., which is when the town began to use the theater stones to build fancy baths instead. You can see the remains of the baths behind the theater, including the round sauna with brick supports that raise the heated floor.
From the vantage point on the city wall promenade, you can trace Volterra’s vast Etruscan wall. Find the church in the distance, on the left, and notice the stones just below. They are from the Etruscan wall that followed the ridge into the valley and defined Volterra in the fourth century B.C.
Cost and Hours: €3.50, but you can view the theater free from Via Lungo le Mure; the entrance is near the little parking lot just outside Porta Fiorentina—you can see the entry to the right as you survey the theater from above; mid-March-Oct daily 10:30-17:30, Nov-mid-March Sat-Sun only 10:00-16:00, may be closed in bad weather.
• From the Roman Theater, make your way back to Via Matteotti (follow Via Guarnacci straight up from Porta Fiorentina). A block down Via Matteotti, you can’t miss the wide, pedestrianized shopping street called Via Gramsci. Follow this up to Piazza XX Settembre, walk through that leafy square, and continue uphill on Via Don Minzoni. Watch on your left for the...
Filled top to bottom with rare Etruscan artifacts, this museum—even with few English explanations and its dusty, almost neglectful, old-school style—makes it easy to appreciate how advanced this pre-Roman culture was.
Cost and Hours: €8, €10 combo-ticket includes the Pinacoteca and Alabaster Museum; daily mid-March-Oct 9:00-19:00, Nov-mid-March 10:00-16:00; ask at the ticket window for mildly interesting English pamphlet, audioguide-€3, Via Don Minzoni 15, tel. 0588-86347, www.comune.volterra.pi.it/english.
Visiting the Museum: The museum’s three floors feel dusty and disorganized. As there are scarcely any English explanations, consider the serious but interesting audioguide; the information below hits the highlights.
Ground Floor: The collection starts with a small gathering of pre-Etruscan Villanovian artifacts (c. 1500 B.C., to the left as you enter), but one of its highlights is straight ahead, sprawling through several rooms: a seemingly endless collection of Etruscan funerary urns (dating from the seventh to the first century B.C.). Designed to contain the ashes of cremated loved ones, each urn is tenderly carved with a unique scene, offering a peek into the still-mysterious Etruscan society. Etruscan urns have two parts: The casket on the bottom contained the remains (with elaborately carved panels), while the lid was decorated with a sculpture of the departed.
First pay attention to the people on top. While contemporaries of the Greeks, the Etruscans were more libertine. Their religion was less demanding, and their women were a respected part of both the social and public spheres. Women and men alike are depicted lounging on Etruscan urns. While they seem to be just hanging out, the lounging dead were actually offering the gods a banquet—in order to gain their favor in the transition to the next life. The banquet—where Etruscans really did lounge like this in front of a table—was the epitome of their social structure. But the outcome of this particular banquet had eternal consequences. The dearly departed are often depicted holding scrolls, blank wax tablets (symbolizing blank new lives in the next world), and containers that would generally be used at banquets, including libation cups for offering wine to the gods. The women in particular are finely dressed, sometimes holding a pomegranate (symbolizing fertility) or a mirror. Look at the faces, and imagine the lives they lived and the loved ones they left behind.
Now tune into the reliefs carved into the fronts of the caskets. The motifs vary widely, from floral patterns to mystical animals (such as a Starbucks-like mermaid) to parades of magistrates. Most show journeys on horseback—appropriate for someone leaving this world and entering the next. The most evocative scenes show the fabled horseback-and-carriage ride to the underworld, where the dead are greeted by Charon, an underworld demon, with his hammer and pointy ears.
While the finer urns are carved of alabaster, most are made of limestone. Originally they were colorfully painted. Many lids are mismatched—casualties of reckless 18th- and 19th-century archaeological digs.
First Floor: Upstairs, you’ll enter a room with a circular mosaic in the floor (a Roman original, found in Volterra and transplanted here). Turn left into a series of green rooms—the best presented (and most important) of the museum.
The first room, Sala XIV, collects scenes of Ulysses carved into the fronts of caskets. Turn left and head into Sala XV, with the museum’s prize piece. Fans of Alberto Giacometti will be amazed at how the tall, skinny figure called The Evening Shadow (L’Ombra della Sera, third century B.C.) looks just like the modern Swiss sculptor’s work—but is 2,500 years older. This is an exceptional example of the ex-voto bronze statues that the Etruscans created in thanks to the gods. With his supremely lanky frame, distinctive wavy hairdo, and inscrutable Mona Lisa smirk, this Etruscan lad captures the illusion of a shadow stretching long late in the day. Admire the sheer artistry of the statue; with its right foot shifted slightly forward, it even hints at the contrapposto pose that would become common in this same region during the Renaissance, two millennia later.
Continue circling clockwise, through Sala XVI (alabaster urns with more Greek myths), Sala XVII (ex-voto water-bearer statues, kraters—vases with handles, and bronze hand mirrors), and Sala XVIII (exquisite golden jewelry that would still be fashionable today). Sala XIX shows off the museum’s other top piece, the Urn of the Spouses (Urna degli Sposi, first century B.C.). It’s unique for various reasons, including its material (it’s in terra-cotta—a relatively rare material for these funerary urns) and its depiction of two people rather than one. Looking at this elderly couple, it’s easy to imagine the long life they spent together and their desire to pass eternity lounging with each other at a banquet for the gods.
Around 550 B.C.—just before the Golden Age of Greece—the Etruscan people of central Italy had their own Golden Age. Though their origins are mysterious, their mix of Greek-style art with Roman-style customs helped lay a civilized foundation for the rise of the Roman Empire. As you travel through Italy—particularly in Tuscany (from “Etruscan”), you’ll find traces of this long-lost people. Etruscan tombs and artifacts are still being discovered, often by farmers in the countryside.
The Etruscans first appeared in the ninth century B.C., when a number of cities sprouted up in sparsely populated Tuscany and Umbria, including today’s hill towns of Cortona, Chiusi, and Volterra. Possibly immigrants from Turkey, but more likely local farmers who moved to the city, they became traders and craftsmen, and welcomed new ideas from Greece.
More technologically advanced than their neighbors, the Etruscans mined metal, exporting it around the Mediterranean, both as crude ingots and as some of the finest-crafted jewelry in the known world. They drained and irrigated large tracts of land, creating the fertile farmland of central Italy’s breadbasket. With their disciplined army, warships, merchant vessels, and (from the Greek perspective) pirate galleys, they ruled central Italy and the major ports along the Tyrrhenian Sea. For nearly two centuries (c. 700-500 B.C.), much of Italy lived a Golden Age of peace and prosperity under the Etruscan sun.
Judging from the frescoes and many luxury items that have survived, the Etruscans enjoyed the good life: They look healthy and vibrant as they play flutes, dance with birds, or play party games. Etruscan artists celebrated individual people, showing their wrinkles, crooked noses, silly smiles, and funny haircuts.
Scholars today have deciphered the Etruscans’ Greek-style alphabet and some individual words, but they have yet to fully crack the code. Much of what we know of the Etruscans comes from their tombs. The tomb was a home in the hereafter, complete with all of the deceased’s belongings. The sarcophagus might have a statue on the lid of the deceased at a banquet—lying across a dining couch, spooning with his wife, smiles on their faces, living the good life for all eternity.
Seven decades of wars with the Greeks (545-474 B.C.) disrupted their trade routes and drained the Etruscan League, just as a new Mediterranean power was emerging: Rome. In 509 B.C., the Romans overthrew their Etruscan king, and Rome expanded, capturing Etruscan cities one by one (the last in 264 B.C.). Etruscan resisters were killed, the survivors intermarried with Romans, and their kids grew up speaking Latin. By Julius Caesar’s time, the only remnants of Etruscan culture were its priests, who became Rome’s professional soothsayers. Interestingly, the Etruscan prophets had foreseen their own demise, having predicted that Etruscan civilization would last 10 centuries.
But Etruscan culture lived on in Roman religion (pantheon of gods, household gods, and divination rituals), art (realism), lifestyle (the banquet), and in a taste for Greek styles—the mix that became our “Western civilization.”
Rome: Traces of original Etruscan engineering projects (e.g., Circus Maximus), Vatican Museum artifacts, and Villa Giulia Museum, with the famous “husband and wife sarcophagus.”
Orvieto: Archaeological Museum (coins, dinnerware, and a sarcophagus), necropolis, and underground tunnels and caves.
Volterra: Etruscan gate (Porta all’Arco, from fourth century B.C.) and Etruscan Museum (urns, pottery, and devotional figures).
The rest of this floor has a battle helmet ominously dented at the left temple; black glazed pottery; thousands of Etruscan, Greek, and Roman coins; and many more bronze ex-votos and jewelry.
Top Floor: From the top of the stairs, turn right, then immediately right again to find a re-created grave site, with several neatly aligned urns and artifacts that would have been buried with the deceased. Some of these were funeral dowries (called corredo) that the dead would pack along. You’ll see artifacts such as mirrors, coins, hardware for vases, votive statues, pots, pans, and jewelry. On the landing are fragments from Volterra’s acropolis—a site now occupied by the Medici Fortress. The rest of this floor shows even more burial urns, pottery, and ex-votos.
• After your visit, duck across the street to the alabaster showroom and the wine bar (both described next).
Alab’Arte offers a fun peek into the art of alabaster. Their showroom is across from the Etruscan Museum, but to find their powdery workshop, go a block downhill, in front of Porta Marcoli, where you can watch Roberto Chiti and Giorgio Finazzo at work. They are delighted to share their art with visitors. (Everything—including Roberto and Giorgio—is covered in a fine white dust.) Lighting shows off the translucent quality of the stone and the expertise of these artists. This is not a touristy guided visit, but something far more special: the chance to see busy artisans practicing their craft. For more such artisans in action, visit “Artisan Lane” (Via Porta all’Arco) described earlier, or ask the TI for their list of the town’s many workshops open to the public.
Cost and Hours: Free, showroom—daily 9:30-13:00 & 15:00-19:00, Via Don Minzoni 18; workshop—March-Oct Mon-Sat 9:30-12:30 & 15:00-19:00, closed Sun, usually closed Nov-Feb—call ahead, Via Orti Sant’Agostino 28; tel. 0588-87968, www.alabarte.com.
La Vena di Vino, also just across from the Etruscan Museum, is a fun enoteca where two guys who have devoted themselves to the wonders of wine share it with a fun-loving passion. Each day Bruno and Lucio open six or eight bottles, serve your choice by the glass, pair it with characteristic munchies, and offer fine music (guitars available for patrons) and an unusual decor (the place is strewn with bras). Hang out here with the local characters. This is your chance to try the Super Tuscan wine—a creative mix of international grapes grown in Tuscany. According to Bruno, the Brunello (€7/glass) is just right with wild boar, and the Super Tuscan (€6-7) is perfect for meditation. Food is served all day, including some microwaved hot dishes or a plate of meats and cheeses. Although Volterra is famously quiet late at night, this place is full of action. Downstairs is a rustic cellar that doubles on weekend nights as a sort of disco.
Cost and Hours: Pay per glass, open Wed-Mon 11:30-24:00, closed Tue—but may be open Tue in summer, 3- to 5-glass wine tastings, shipping options available, Via Don Minzoni 30, tel. 0588-81491, www.lavenadivino.com.
• Volterra’s final sight is perched atop the hill just above the wine bar. Climb up one of the lanes nearby, then walk (to the right) along the formidable wall to find the park.
The Parco Archeologico marks what was the acropolis of Volterra from 1500 B.C. until A.D. 1472, when Florence conquered the pesky city and burned its political and historic center, turning it into a grassy commons and building the adjacent Medici Fortezza. The old fortress—a symbol of Florentine dominance—now keeps people in rather than out. It’s a maximum-security prison housing only about 150 special prisoners. (When you’re driving from San Gimignano to Volterra, you pass another big, modern prison—almost surreal in the midst of all the Tuscan wonder.) Authorities prefer to keep organized crime figures locked up far away from their family ties in Sicily.
The park sprawling next to the fortress (toward the town center) is a rare, grassy meadow at the top of a rustic hill town—a favorite place for locals to relax and picnic on a sunny day. Nearby are the remains of the acropolis (€3.50 to enter, ticket also includes the Roman Theater), but these can be viewed through the fence for free.
Cost and Hours: Free to enter park, open until 20:00 in peak of summer, progressively shorter hours off-season, until 17:00 in winter.
All the sights listed above are in a tight little zone of the old town, about a 10-minute walk from each other. But if you have time for a stroll, Volterra—perched on a ridge overlooking pristine Tuscan hills—has countryside galore to explore. Get some advice from the TI.
One popular walk is to head to the west end of town, out Porta San Francesco, into a workaday area (dubbed “Borghi,” literally “neighborhoods”) that sees few tourists. Continuing downhill (past the Church of San Giusto), you’ll come to a cliff with a stretch of the original fourth-century B.C. Etruscan wall. Peering over the cliff from here, you can see that Volterra sits upon orange sandy topsoil packed onto clay cliffs, called Le Balze. At various points in its history, the town has been threatened by landslides, and parts of its hilltop have simply disappeared. The big church you see in the distance was abandoned in the late 1800s for fear that it would be swallowed up by the land. The distinctive cliffs surrounding Volterra are called calanchi (similar to the French calanques that slash the Mediterranean coast).
Predictably for a small town, Volterra’s accommodations are limited, and all have their quirks—but there are plenty of places offering a good night’s sleep at a fair price. While it’s convenient to stay inside the old town, the lodgings that are a short walk away are generally a bit cheaper (and easier for drivers). But keep in mind that all of the “outside the old town” places involve not just walking, but steep walking.
$$$ Hotel La Locanda feels stately and old-fashioned. This well-located place (just inside Porta Fiorentina, near the Roman Theater and parking lot) rents 18 decent rooms with flowery decor and modern comforts (Db-€104, less off-season, 10 percent Rick Steves discount, air-con, elevator, Wi-Fi, Via Guarnacci 24/28, tel. 0588-81547, www.hotel-lalocanda.com, staff@hotel-lalocanda.com, Stefania and Irina).
$$$ Hotel San Lino fills a former convent with 32 modern, nondescript rooms at the sleepy lower end of town—close to the Porta San Francisco gate, and about a five-minute uphill walk to the main drag. Although it’s within the town walls, it doesn’t feel like it: The hotel has a fine swimming pool and view terrace, and is the only in-town option that’s convenient for drivers, who can park at the on-site garage for €11 (Db-€109, “superior” room adds slightly newer furnishings for €10 more—not worth it, air-con, elevator, Wi-Fi, Via San Lino 26, tel. 0588-85250, www.hotelsanlino.net, info@hotelsanlino.com).
$$ Albergo Etruria, on Volterra’s main drag, rents 21 fresh, modern, and spacious rooms within an ancient stone structure. They have a welcoming TV lounge and a peaceful rooftop garden (Sb-€75, Db-€95, Tb-€115, 10 percent discount with cash and this book when you book direct, fans, spotty Wi-Fi, Via Matteotti 32, tel. 0588-87377, www.albergoetruria.it, info@albergoetruria.it, Lisa and Giuseppina are fine hosts).
$$ Albergo Nazionale, with 38 big and aging rooms, is simple, a little musty, short on smiles, popular with school groups, and steps from the bus stop. It’s a nicely located last resort if you have your heart set on sleeping in the old town (Sb-€65, Db-€88, Tb-€105, 10 percent discount with cash and this book if you book directly with the hotel, reception closes at midnight, elevator, Wi-Fi, Via dei Marchesi 11, tel. 0588-86284, fax 0588-84097, www.hotelnazionale-volterra.it, info@hotelnazionale-volterra.it).
These accommodations are within a 5- to 20-minute walk of the city walls.
$$$ Park Hotel Le Fonti, a dull and steep 10-minute walk downhill from Porta all’Arco, can’t decide whether it’s a business hotel or a resort. The spacious, imposing building feels old and stately, and has 64 modern, comfortable rooms, many with views. While generally overpriced (the management knows it’s the only hotel of its kind in Volterra), it can be a good value if you manage to snag a deal. In addition to the swimming pool, guests can use a small spa with sauna, hot tub, and an intriguing “emotional shower” (Db-€89-165, average is about Db-€129 but prices vary wildly with the season, identical “superior” room adds a view for €20 extra, “deluxe” room with terrace costs €30 extra, elevator, Wi-Fi in lobby, on-site restaurant, wine bar, free parking, Via di Fontecorrenti 2, tel. 0588-85219, www.parkhotellefonti.com, info@parkhotellefonti.com).
$$ Albergo Villa Nencini, a steep 15-minute walk below town, is older-feeling and listlessly run, with 36 cheaply furnished rooms. But a few rooms have terraces, and many have views. Guests also enjoy the large pool and free parking (Sb-€67, Db-€88, Tb-€115, 10 percent discount with cash and this book, air-con, pay Wi-Fi, Borgo Santo Stefano 55, tel. 0588-86386, www.villanencini.it, info@villanencini.it, Nencini family).
$ La Primavera B&B feels like a British B&B transplanted to Tuscany. It’s a great value just a few minutes’ walk outside Porta Fiorentina (near the Roman Theater). Silvia rents five charming, neat-as-a-pin rooms that share a cutesy-country lounge. The house is along a fairly busy road, but set back in a pleasant courtyard. With free parking and the shortest walk (among my out-of-town listings) to the old town, this is a handy option for drivers (Sb-€50, Db-€75, Tb-€100, Wi-Fi, free parking, Via Porta Diana 15, tel. 0588-87295, mobile 328-865-0390, www.affittacamere-laprimavera.com, info@affittacamere-laprimavera.com).
$ Chiosco delle Monache, Volterra’s youth hostel, fills a wing of the restored Convent of San Girolamo with 68 beds in 23 rooms. It’s modern, spacious, and very institutional, with lots of services and a tranquil cloister to wander. However, it’s about a 20-minute hike out of town, in a boring area near deserted hospital buildings (bed in 6-bed dorm-€18, breakfast extra, lockers; Db-€69, includes breakfast; reception closed 13:00-15:00 and after 22:00, elevator, Wi-Fi, free parking, kids’ playroom, Via dell Teatro 4, look for hospital sign from main Volterra-San Gimignano road, tel. 0588-86613, www.ostellovolterra.it, chioscomonache@gmail.com). Nearby and run by the same organization, $ Hotel Foresteria has 35 big, utilitarian, new-feeling rooms with decent prices but the same location woes as the hostel; it’s worth considering for budget travelers, families, and drivers—and ideal for someone who’s all three (Sb-€58, Db-€82, Tb-€103, Qb-€122, includes breakfast, air-con, elevator, Wi-Fi, restaurant, free parking, Borgo San Lazzaro, tel. 0588-80050, www.foresteriavolterra.it, info@foresteriavolterra.it).
$ Seminario Vescovile Sant’Andrea is your cheap and monastic option. This place has been training priests for more than 500 years. Today, the remaining eight priests still train students, but when classes are over, their 40 rooms—separated by vast and holy halls in an echoing old mansion—are rented very cheaply. Look for the 15th-century Ascension ceramic by Andrea della Robbia, tucked away in a corner upstairs, and ask to see the abandoned, circa-1400 church (S-€20, Sb-€25, D-€40, Db-€50, T-€60, Tb-€75, no breakfast, closed Oct-March, elevator, closes at 24:00, groups welcome, free parking, 10-minute walk from Etruscan Museum, Viale Vittorio Veneto 2, tel. 0588-86028, seminariosantandre@gmail.com; Sergio and Sergio—due Sergi).
$$ Podere Marcampo is a newer agriturismo about 2.5 miles outside Volterra on the road to Pisa. Run by Genuino (owner of the recommended Ristorante Enoteca del Duca), his wife Ivana, and their English-speaking daughter Claudia, this peaceful spot has three well-appointed rooms and three apartments, plus a swimming pool with panoramic views. Genuino produces his award-winning Merlot on site and offers €20 wine-tastings with cheese and homemade salami. Cooking classes at their restaurant in town are also available (Db-€94, Db apartment-€118/€145 depending on size, Qb apartment-€195, more expensive mid-July-Aug, includes breakfast with this book, air-con, Wi-Fi, free self-service laundry, free parking, tel. 0588-85393, Claudia’s mobile 328-174-4605, www.agriturismo-marcampo.com, info@agriturismo-marcampo.com).
Menus feature a Volterran take on regional dishes. Zuppa alla Volterrana is a fresh vegetable-and-bread soup, similar to ribollita (except that it isn’t made from leftovers). Torta di ceci, also known as cecina, is a savory-pancake-like dish made with garbanzo beans. Those with more adventurous palates dive into trippa (tripe; comes in a bowl like stew), the traditional breakfast of the alabaster carvers. Fegatelli are meatballs made with liver.
Ristorante Enoteca del Duca, with a locally respected chef named Genuino, serves well-presented and creative Tuscan cuisine. You can dine under a medieval arch with walls lined with wine bottles, in a sedate, high-ceilinged dining room (with an Etruscan statuette at each table), on a nice little patio out back, or in their little enoteca (wine cellar). It’s a good place for truffles, and has a friendly staff and a fine wine list (which includes Genuino’s own merlot, plus several much pricier options—choose carefully). The spacious seating, dressy clientele, and calm atmosphere make this a good choice for a romantic splurge (€42 food-sampler fixed-price meal, €10-15 pastas, €15-22 secondi, Wed-Mon 12:30-15:00 & 19:30-22:00, closed Tue, near City Hall at Via di Castello 2, tel. 0588-81510, www.enoteca-delduca-ristorante.it).
La Carabaccia is unique: not “Italian home cooking,” but real Italian home cooking. No, seriously. This simple, family-run trattoria—which feels like a local family invited you over for dinner—serves classic Tuscan comfort food that’s rarely seen on restaurant menus. They serve only two pastas and two secondi on any given night (listed on the chalkboard by the door). Committed to tradition, on Fridays they serve only fish. They also whip up €3-4 takeaway sandwiches at the deli up front (€7-9 pastas and secondi, Tue-Sun 12:30-14:30 & 19:30-22:00, closed Mon, Piazza XX Settembre 4, tel. 0588-86239).
Ristorante il Sacco Fiorentino is a local favorite for traditional cuisine and seasonal seafood specials (€8-10 pastas, €11-15 secondi, Thu-Tue 12:00-15:00 & 19:00-22:00, closed Wed, Via Giusto Turazza 13, tel. 0588-88537).
Trattoria da Badò, a 10-minute hike out of town (along the main road toward San Gimignano, near the turn-off for the old hospital), is every local’s favorite for its tipica cucina Volterrana. Giacomo and family offer a rustic atmosphere and serve food with no pretense—“the way you wish your mamma cooks.” Reserve before you go, as it’s often full (€10-12 pastas, €13 secondi, Thu-Tue 12:30-14:30 & 19:30-22:00, closed Wed, Borgo San Lazzero 9, tel. 0577-80402, www.trattoriadabado.com).
La Vecchia Lira, bright and cheery, is a classy self-serve eatery that’s a hit with locals as a quick and cheap lunch spot by day (with €5-10 meals), and a fancier restaurant at night (€9-10 pastas, €13-16 secondi; Fri-Wed 11:30-14:30 & 19:00-22:30, closed Thu, Via Matteotti 19, tel. 0588-86180, Lamberto and Massimo).
Don Beta is a family-run trattoria on the main drag, popular with travelers for its flashy location, long menu, and reasonable prices. Mirko supervises the lively young team as they whisk out steaming plates of pasta and homemade desserts (€7-10 pastas, €12-18 secondi, daily 12:00-14:30 & 19:00-23:00, reservations smart, Via Matteotti 39, tel. 0588-86730, www.donbeta.it).
La Vena di Vino is an enoteca serving up simple and traditional dishes and the best of Tuscan wine in a fun atmosphere. As their hot dishes are microwaved (there’s no real kitchen), come here more for the wine and ambience than for the food (€8-12 meals, closed Tue, Via Don Minzoni 30, tel. 0588-81491). For more details, read the description on here.
Pizzerias: Ombra della Sera dishes out what local kids consider the best pizza in town. At €6-9 a pop, their pizzas make for a cheap date (Tue-Sun 12:00-15:00 & 19:00-22:00, closed Mon, Via Guarnacci 16, don’t confuse this with their second, pricier location on Via Gramsci; tel. 0588-85274). Pizzeria Tavernetta, next door, is more romantic, with delightful indoor and on-the-street seating. Its romantically frescoed dining room upstairs is the classiest I’ve seen in a pizzeria (€5-8 pizzas, Wed-Mon 12:00-15:00 & 18:30-22:30, closed Tue, Via Guarnacci 14, tel. 0588-88155).
Picnic: You can assemble a picnic at the few alimentari around town (try Despar Market at Via Gramsci 12, Mon-Sat 7:30-13:00 & 16:00-20:00, Sun 8:30-13:00) and eat in the breezy Archaeological Park.
Gelato: Of the many ice-cream stands in the center, I’ve found L’Isola di Gusto to be reliably high quality (daily 11:00-late, Via Gramsci 3).
In Volterra, buses come and go from Piazza Martiri della Libertà (buy tickets at the tobacco shop right on the piazza; if it’s closed, purchase on board for small extra charge). Most connections—except to Pisa—are with the C.P.T. bus company (www.cpt.pisa.it) through Colle di Val d’Elsa (“koh-leh” for short), a workaday town in the valley (4/day Mon-Sat, 1/day Sun, 50 minutes). The nearest train station is in Saline di Volterra, a 15-minute bus ride away (7/day, 2/day Sun); however, trains from Saline run only to the coast, not to the major bus destinations listed here.
From Volterra by Bus to: Florence (4/day Mon-Sat, 1/day Sun, 2 hours, change in Colle di Val d’Elsa), Siena (4/day Mon-Sat, no buses on Sun, 2 hours, change in Colle di Val d’Elsa), San Gimignano (4/day Mon-Sat, 1/day Sun, 2 hours, change in Colle di Val d’Elsa, one connection also requires change in Poggibonsi), Pisa (9/day, 2 hours, change in Pontedera).
The epitome of a Tuscan hill town, with 14 medieval towers still standing (out of an original 72), San Gimignano (sahn jee-meen-YAH-noh) is a perfectly preserved tourist trap. There are no important interiors to sightsee, and the town is packed with crass commercialism. The locals seem spoiled by the easy money of tourism, and most of the rustic is faux. But San Gimignano is so easy to reach and so visually striking that it remains a good stop, especially if you can sidestep some of the hordes. The town is an ideal place to go against the touristic flow—arrive late in the day, enjoy it at twilight, then take off in the morning before the deluge begins. (Or if you’re day-tripping from Volterra, try to visit San Gimignano early or late.)
In the 13th century—back in the days of Romeo and Juliet—feuding noble families ran the hill towns. They’d periodically battle things out from the protection of their respective family towers. Pointy skylines, like San Gimignano’s, were the norm in medieval Tuscany.
San Gimignano’s cuisine is mostly what you might find in Siena—typical Tuscan home cooking. Cinghiale (cheeng-GAH-lay, boar) is served in almost every way: stews, soups, cutlets, and, my favorite, salami. Most shops will give you a sample before you commit to buying. The area is well known for producing some of the best saffron in Italy (collected from the purple flowers of Crocus sativus); you’ll find the spice for sale in shops (it’s fairly expensive) and as a flavoring in meals at finer restaurants. Although Tuscany is normally a red-wine region, the most famous Tuscan white wine comes from here: the inexpensive, light, and fruity Vernaccia di San Gimignano. Look for the green “DOCG” label around the neck for the best quality (see “Wines Labels and Lingo” on here).
While the basic ▲▲▲ sight here is the town of San Gimignano itself (pop. 7,000), there are a few worthwhile stops. From the town gate, head straight up the traffic-free town’s cobbled main drag to Piazza della Cisterna (with its 13th-century well). The town sights cluster around the adjoining Piazza del Duomo.
The helpful TI is in the old center on Piazza del Duomo (daily March-Oct 10:00-13:00 & 15:00-19:00, Nov-Feb 10:00-13:00 & 14:00-18:00, free maps, sells bus tickets, books rooms, handles VAT refunds, tel. 0577-940-008, www.sangimignano.com). They also offer a two-hour minibus tour to a countryside winery (€20, April-Oct Tue and Thu at 17:00, book one day in advance).
The bus stops at the main town gate, Porta San Giovanni. There’s no baggage storage anywhere in town (day-trippers can store bags in Siena, Florence, etc.).
You can’t drive within the walled town; the “ZTL” limited-traffic zone (marked by a red circle) indicates that you’ll get socked with a big fine if you carelessly cross the line. Three numbered pay lots are a short walk outside the walls: The handiest is Parcheggio Montemaggio (P2), at the bottom of town near the bus stop, just outside Porta San Giovanni (€2/hour, €20/day). Least expensive is the lot below the roundabout and Co-op supermarket, called Parcheggio Giubileo (P1; €1.50/hour, €6/day), but it comes with a steeper hike into town. And at the north end of town, by Porta San Jacopo, is Parcheggio Bagnaia (P3/P4, €2/hour, €15/day). Note that some lots—including the one directly in front of the Co-op and the one just outside Porta San Matteo—are designated for locals and have a one-hour limit for tourists.
Market Day: Thursday is market day on Piazza del Duomo (8:00-13:00), but for local merchants, every day is a sales frenzy.
Services: A public WC is just off Piazza della Cisterna (€0.50); several other coin-op ones are at the Rocca fortress, near San Bartolo church, just outside Porta San Matteo, and at the Parcheggio Bagnaia parking lot.
Shuttle Bus: A little electric shuttle bus does its laps about hourly all day from Porta San Giovanni to Piazza della Cisterna to Porta San Matteo. Route #1 runs back and forth through town; route #2—which runs only in summer—conveniently connects the three parking lots to the town center (€0.75 one-way, €1.50 for all-day pass, buy ticket in advance from TI or tobacco shop, possible to buy all-day pass on bus). When pedestrian congestion in the town center is greatest (Sat afternoons, all day Sun, and July-Aug), these buses run along the road skirting the outside of town.
(See “San Gimignano” map, here.)
This quick self-guided walking tour will take you across town, from the bus stop at Porta San Giovanni through the town’s main squares to the Duomo, and on to the Sant’Agostino Church.
• Start, as most tourists do, at the Porta San Giovanni gate at the bottom end of town.
San Gimignano lies about 25 miles from both Siena and Florence, a good stop for pilgrims en route to those cities, and on a naturally fortified hilltop that encouraged settlement. The town’s walls were built in the 13th century, and gates like this helped regulate who came and went. Today, modern posts (and stiff “ZTL” fines) keep out all but service and emergency vehicles. The small square just outside the gate features a memorial to the town’s WWII dead. Follow the pilgrims’ route (and flood of modern tourists) through the gate and up the main drag.
About 100 yards up, where the street widens, look right to see a pilgrims’ shelter (12th-century, Pisan Romanesque). The eight-pointed Maltese cross indicates that this was built by the Knights of Malta, whose early mission (before they became a military unit) was to provide hospitality for pilgrims. It was one of 11 such shelters in town. Today, only the wall of this shelter remains.
• Carry on past all manner of touristy rip-off shops, up to the town’s central Piazza della Cisterna. Sit on the steps of the well.
The piazza is named for the cistern that is served by the old well standing in the center of this square. A clever system of pipes drained rainwater from the nearby rooftops into the underground cistern. This square has been the center of the town since the ninth century. Turn in a slow circle and observe the commotion of rustic-yet-proud facades crowding in a tight huddle around the well. Imagine this square in pilgrimage times, lined by inns and taverns for the town’s guests. Now finger the grooves in the lip of the well and imagine generations of maids and children fetching water. Each Thursday, the square fills with a market—as it has for more than a thousand years.
• Notice San Gimignano’s famous towers.
Of the original 72 towers, only 14 survive. Before effective city walls were developed, rich people fortified their own homes with these towers: They provided a handy refuge when ruffians and rival city-states were sacking the town. If under attack, tower owners would set fire to the external wooden staircase, leaving the sole entrance unreachable a story up; inside, fleeing nobles pulled up behind them the ladders that connected each level, leaving invaders no way to reach the stronghold at the tower’s top. These towers became a standard part of medieval skylines. Even after town walls were built, the towers continued to rise—now to fortify noble families feuding within a town (Montague and Capulet-style).
In the 14th century, San Gimignano’s good times turned very bad. In the year 1300, about 13,000 people lived within the walls. Then in 1348, a six-month plague decimated the population, leaving the once-mighty town with barely 4,000 survivors. Once fiercely independent, now crushed and demoralized, San Gimignano came under Florence’s control and was forced to tear down its towers. (The Banca CR Firenze building occupies the remains of one such toppled tower.) And, to add insult to injury, Florence redirected the vital trade route away from San Gimignano. The town never recovered, and poverty left it in a 14th-century architectural time warp. That well-preserved cityscape, ironically, is responsible for the town’s prosperity today.
• From the well, walk 30 yards uphill to the adjoining square with the cathedral.
The square faces the former cathedral. The twin towers to the right are 10th century, among the first in town. The stubby tower opposite the church is typical of a merchant’s tower: main door on ground floor, warehouse upstairs, holes to hold beams that once supported wooden balconies and exterior staircases, heavy stone on the first floor, cheaper and lighter brick for upper stories.
• On the piazza are the Civic Museum and Tower, worth checking out (see “Sights in San Gimignano,” later). You’ll also see the...
Inside San Gimignano’s Romanesque cathedral, Sienese Gothic art (14th century) lines the nave with parallel themes—Old Testament on the left and New Testament on the right. (For example, from back to front: Creation facing the Annunciation, the birth of Adam facing the Nativity, and—farther forward—the suffering of Job opposite the suffering of Jesus.) This is a classic use of art to teach. Study the fine Creation series (along the left side). Many scenes are portrayed with a local 14th-century “slice of life” setting, to help lay townspeople relate to Jesus—in the same way that many white Christians are more comfortable thinking of Jesus as Caucasian (€4, €6 combo-ticket includes mediocre Religious Art Museum—skip it, admission includes dry audioguide; April-Oct Mon-Fri 10:00-19:30, Sat 10:00-17:30, Sun 12:30-19:00; shorter hours off-season; last entry 20 minutes before closing, buy ticket and enter from the courtyard around the left side).
• From the church, hike uphill (passing the church on your left) following signs to Rocca e Parco di Montestaffoli. Keep walking until you enter a peaceful hilltop park and olive grove within the shell of a 14th-century fortress.
On the far side, 33 steps take you to the top of a little tower (free) for the best views of San Gimignano’s skyline; the far end of town and the Sant’Agostino Church (where this walk ends); and a commanding 360-degree view of the Tuscan countryside. San Gimignano is surrounded by olives, grapes, cypress trees, and—in the Middle Ages—lots of wild dangers. Back then, farmers lived inside the walls and were thankful for the protection.
• Return to the bottom of Piazza del Duomo, turn left, and continue your walk across town, cutting under the double arch (from the town’s first wall). In around 1200, this defined the end of town. The Church of San Bartolo stood just outside the wall (on the right). The Maltese cross over the door indicates that it likely served as a hostel for pilgrims. As you continue down Via San Matteo, notice that the crowds have dropped by at least half. Enjoy the breathing room as you pass a fascinating array of stone facades from the 13th and 14th centuries—now a happy cancan of wine shops and galleries. Reaching the gateway at the end of town, follow signs to the right to reach...
This tranquil church, at the far end of town (built by the Augustinians who arrived in 1260), has fewer crowds and more soul. Behind the altar, a lovely fresco cycle by Benozzo Gozzoli (who painted the exquisite Chapel of the Magi in the Medici-Riccardi Palace in Florence) tells of the life of St. Augustine, a North African monk who preached simplicity. The kind, English-speaking friars (from Britain and the US) are happy to tell you about their church and way of life, and also have Mass in English on Sundays at 11:00. Pace the peaceful cloister before heading back into the tourist mobs (free, €0.50 lights the frescoes; April-Oct daily 7:00-12:00 & 15:00-19:00; shorter hours off-season). Their fine little shop, with books on the church and its art, is worth a look.
This small, entertaining museum, consisting of just three unfurnished rooms, is inside City Hall (Palazzo Comunale). The main reason to visit is to scale the tower, which offers sweeping views over San Gimignano and the countryside.
Cost and Hours: €6 includes museum and tower, €7.50 when there’s a special exhibit; daily April-Sept 9:30-19:00, Oct-March 11:00-17:30, Piazza del Duomo, tel. 0577-990-312, www.sangimignanomusei.it.
Visiting the Museum: You’ll enter the complex through a delightful stony courtyard (to the left as you face the Duomo). Climb up to the loggia to buy your ticket.
The main room (across from the ticket desk), called the Sala di Consiglio (a.k.a. Dante Hall), is covered in festive frescoes, including the Maestà by Lippo Memmi. This virtual copy of Simone Martini’s Maestà in Siena proves that Memmi didn’t have quite the same talent as his famous brother-in-law.
Upstairs, the Pinacoteca displays a classy little painting collection of mostly altarpieces. The highlight is a 1422 altarpiece by Taddeo di Bartolo honoring St. Gimignano (far end of last room). You can see the saint, with the town—bristling with towers—in his hands, surrounded by events from his life.
Before going back downstairs, be sure to stop by the Mayor’s Room (Camera del Podestà, across the stairwell from the Pinacoteca). Frescoed in 1310 by Memmo di Filippuccio, it offers an intimate and candid peek into the 14th century. The theme: profane love. As you enter, look to the left corner where a young man is ready to experience the world. He hits his parents up for a bag of money and is free. On the opposite wall (above the window), you’ll see a series of bad decisions: Almost immediately he’s entrapped by two prostitutes, who lead him into a tent where he loses his money, is turned out, and is beaten. Above the door, from left to right, you see a parade of better choices: marriage, the cradle of love, the bride led to the groom’s house, and newlyweds bathing together and retiring happily to their bed.
The highlight for most visitors is a chance to climb the Tower (Torre Grossa, entrance halfway down the stairs from the Pinacoteca). The city’s tallest tower, 200 feet and 218 steps up, rewards those who climb it with a commanding view. See if you can count the town’s 14 towers (yes, that includes the stubby little one just below this tower). It’s a sturdy, modern staircase most of the way, but the last stretch is a steep, ladder-like climb.
This small but interesting attraction, in an old church on a quiet street a block over from the main square, is a trip back in time: a painstakingly rendered 1:100 scale clay model of San Gimignano at the turn of the 14th century. You can see the 72 original “tower houses,” and marvel at how unchanged the street plan remains today. You’ll peek into cross-sections of buildings, view scenes of medieval life both within and outside the city walls, and watch a video about the making of the model.
Cost and Hours: Free; April-Oct daily 10:00-18:00; Nov-March Mon-Fri 10:00-17:00, Sat-Sun until 18:00; Via Costarella 3, mobile 327-439-5165, www.sangimignano1300.com.
Although the town is a zoo during the daytime, locals outnumber tourists when evening comes, and San Gimignano becomes mellow and enjoyable. Drivers can unload near their hotels, then park outside the walls in recommended lots. Hotel websites provide instructions.
If arriving by bus, save a crosstown walk to these by asking for the Porta San Matteo stop (rather than the main stop near Porta San Giovanni). Drivers can park at the less-crowded Bagnaia lots (P3 and P4), and walk around to Porta San Matteo.
$$$ Hotel l’Antico Pozzo is an elegantly restored, 15th-century townhouse with 18 tranquil, comfortable rooms, a peaceful interior courtyard terrace, and an elite air (Sb-€95, small Db-€119, standard Db-€139, big Db-€180, air-con, elevator, Wi-Fi, Via San Matteo 87, tel. 0577-942-014, www.anticopozzo.com, info@anticopozzo.com; Emanuele, Elisabetta, and Mariangela).
$$ Le Undici Lune (“The 11 Moons”), with three rooms and an apartment in a tight but characteristic circa-1300 townhouse with steep stairs at the tranquil end of town, has been tastefully decorated with modern flair by Gabriele. While there’s no air-conditioning, the building was designed as a storehouse for food, so it’s naturally cool (Db-€85, apartment-€100, book directly with hotel for these prices, Wi-Fi, Via Mainardi 9, mobile 389-236-8174, www.leundicilune.com, leundicilune@gmail.com).
$ Locanda il Pino has just seven rooms and a big living room. It’s dank but clean and quiet. Run by English-speaking Elena and her family, it sits above their elegant restaurant at the quiet end of town, just inside Porta San Matteo (Db-€55, no breakfast, no air-con, Wi-Fi in lobby, Via Cellolese 4, tel. 0577-940-415, locanda@ristoranteilpino.it).
$$$ Hotel la Cisterna, right on Piazza della Cisterna, feels old and stately, with 48 aging rooms, some with panoramic view terraces—a scene from the film Tea with Mussolini was filmed from one (Sb-€78, Db-€100, Db with view-€125, Db with view terrace—€140, 10 percent discount with this book when you book directly with hotel, air-con, elevator, Wi-Fi, good restaurant with great view, closed Jan-Feb, Piazza della Cisterna 23, tel. 0577-940-328, www.hotelcisterna.it, info@hotelcisterna.it, Alessio).
$$ Palazzo al Torrione, on an untrampled side street just inside Porta San Giovanni, is quiet and handy, and generally better than most hotels (even though they don’t have a full-time reception). Their 10 modern rooms are spacious and tastefully appointed (Db-€90, terrace Db-€110, Tb-€100, terrace Tb-€120, Qb-€120-130, 10 percent discount with this book when you book directly with hotel, breakfast-€7, Wi-Fi in communal kitchen, parking-€6/day, inside and left of gate at Via Berignano 76; operated from tobacco shop 2 blocks away, on the main drag at Via San Giovanni 59; tel. 0577-940-480, mobile 338-938-1656, www.palazzoaltorrione.com, palazzoaltorrione@palazzoaltorrione.com, Vanna and Francesco).
$ Le Vecchie Mura Camere offers three good rooms above their recommended restaurant along a rustic lane, clinging just below the main square (Db-€65, no breakfast, air-con, Wi-Fi, Via Piandornella 15, tel. 0577-940-270, www.vecchiemura.it, info@vecchiemura.it, Bagnai family).
$$$ Ponte a Nappo, run by enterprising Carla Rossi (who doesn’t speak English) and her sons Francesco and Andrea (who do), has seven comfortable rooms and two apartments in a kid-friendly farmhouse. Located a long half-mile below town (best for drivers, but doable for hardy walkers), this place has killer views of the multi-towered city and the rolling hills all around. A picnic dinner lounging on their comfy garden furniture as the sun sets is good Tuscan living (Db-€100-130, 2- to -6 person apartment-€130-250, price depends on season and length of stay, for best price book directly by email or phone and mention Rick Steves—or use promo code “RickSteves” on their website, air-con in hot weather only, Wi-Fi, free parking, pool, lunch and dinner sometimes available for guests, 15-minute walk or 5-minute drive from Porta San Giovanni—if you’re arriving by bus they’ll pick you up, tel. 0577-907-282, mobile 349-882-1565, www.accommodation-sangimignano.com, info@rossicarla.it). About 100 yards below the monument square at Porta San Giovanni, find Via Vecchia (not left or right, but down a tiny road) and follow it down a gravel road for five minutes by car. They also rent a dozen or so rooms and apartments in town (Db-€60-110, cheap Wi-Fi, each room is described on their website).
My first two listings cling to quiet, rustic lanes overlooking the Tuscan hills (yet just a few steps off the main street); the rest are buried deep in the old center.
Dulcis in Fundo Ristorante, small and family-run, proudly serves modest portions of “revisited” Tuscan cuisine (with a modern twist and gourmet presentation) in a jazzy ambience. This enlightened place, whose menu identifies the sources of their ingredients, offers lots of vegetarian options and gladly caters to gluten-free diets—rare in Tuscany (€10-12 pastas, €13-17 secondi, meals served 12:30-14:30 & 19:15-21:45, closed Wed, Vicolo degli Innocenti 21, tel. 0577-941-919, Roberto and Cristina).
Le Vecchie Mura Ristorante has good and fast service, great prices, tasty if unexceptional home cooking, and the ultimate view. It’s romantic indoors or out. They have a dressy, modern interior where you can dine with a view of the busy stainless-steel kitchen under rustic vaults, but the main reason to come is for the incredible cliffside garden terrace. Cliffside tables are worth reserving in advance by calling or dropping by: Ask for “front view” (€8-11 pastas, €12-15 secondi, open only for dinner from 18:00, last order at 22:00, closed Tue, Via Piandornella 15, tel. 0577-940-270, Bagnai family).
Cum Quibus (“In Company”), tucked away near Porta San Matteo, has a smallish dining room with soft music, beamed ceilings, modern touches, and a sophisticated vibe; it also offers al fresco tables in its interior patio in summer. Lorenzo and Simona produce tasty Tuscan cuisine, fresh truffle specialties, and artistic desserts (€10 pastas, €14-19 secondi, truffle dishes more expensive, Wed-Mon 12:30-14:30 & 19:00-22:00, closed Tue, reservations advised, Via San Martino 17, tel. 0577-943-199, www.cumquibus.it).
Trattoria Chiribiri, just inside Porta San Giovanni on the left, serves homemade pastas and desserts at remarkably fair prices. While its petite size and tight seating make it hot in the summer, it’s a good budget option—and as such, it’s in all the guidebooks (€7-8 pastas, €8-11 secondi, daily 11:00-23:00, Piazza della Madonna 1, tel. 0577-941-948, Maria and Maurizio).
Locanda di Sant’Agostino spills out onto the peaceful square, facing Sant’Agostino Church. It’s cheap and cheery, serving lunch and dinner daily—big portions of basic food in a restful setting. Dripping with wheat stalks and atmosphere on the inside, there’s shady on-the-square seating outside (€8-12 pizzas, pastas, and bruschette; €9-15 secondi, daily 11:00-23:00, closed Tue off-season, closed Jan-Feb, Piazza Sant’Agostino 15, tel. 0577-943-141, Genziana and sons).
Enoteca: diVinorum, a cool wine bar with a small entrance right on Piazza Cisterna, has a contemporary cellar atmosphere and—best of all—a row of tables out back overlooking rolling Tuscan hills (just downhill and toward the main drag from Dulcis in Fundo, recommended above; at mealtimes, you’ll have to order food to sit at the outdoor tables). They have local wines by the glass (€3-5) as well as snacks that can make a light meal. The food is nothing special; this place is all about the tranquil view and good wine (€10-15 antipasti plates, €7-8 bruschette and warm plates, daily 11:00-21:30, shorter hours off-season, Piazza Cisterna 30 or Via degli Innocenti 5, tel. 0577-907-192, Matteo).
Picnics: The big, modern Co-op supermarket sells all you need for a nice spread (Mon-Sat 8:30-20:00, Sun 8:30-12:30 except closed Sun Nov-March, at parking lot below Porta San Giovanni). Or browse the little shops guarded by boar heads within the town walls; they sell pricey boar meat (cinghiale). Pick up 100 grams (about a quarter pound) of boar, cheese, bread, and wine and enjoy a picnic in the garden at the Rocca or the park outside Porta San Giovanni.
Gelato: To cap the evening and sweeten your late-night city stroll, stop by Gelateria Dondoli on Piazza della Cisterna (at #4). Gelato-maker Sergio was a member of the Italian team that won the official Gelato World Cup—and his gelato really is a cut above (tel. 0577-942-244, Dondoli family).
Bus tickets are sold at the bar just inside the town gate or at the TI. Many connections require a change at Poggibonsi (poh-jee-BOHN-see), which is also the nearest train station.
From San Gimignano by Bus to: Florence (hourly, less on Sun, 1.5-2 hours, change in Poggibonsi), Siena (8/day direct, on Sun must change in Poggibonsi, 1.25 hours), Volterra (4/day Mon-Sat; 1/day Sun—in the late afternoon and usually crowded—with no return to San Gimignano; 2 hours, change in Colle di Val d’Elsa, one connection also requires change in Poggibonsi). Note that the bus connection to Volterra is four times as long as the drive; if you’re desperate to get there faster, you can pay about €70 for a taxi.
By Car: San Gimignano is an easy 45-minute drive from Florence (take the A-1 exit marked Firenze Certosa, then a right past tollbooth following Siena per 4 corsie sign; exit the freeway at Poggibonsi). From San Gimignano, it’s a scenic and windy half-hour drive to Volterra.