Volterra Italy (sp?)
 

anyone been there? It looks absolutely amazing. They said it was around 50 miles outside of Florence...just wanted to get some opinions on this hilltop town.

lovely town, great restaurants, alabaster objects, good museum. The views over the calanchi are similar to those of Civita di Bagnoregio.

Great place to visit, in conjunction with San Gimignano. Most shops close for lunch - except the restaurants, naturally. Many might close Mondays morning too.

There is an interesting undergound parking garage there.

Stu Dudley

does anyone have personal pictures from there...meaning, pictures you have taken yourself. I don't really care to google the name for pictures for the simple fact they all look like post cards. most places can look beautiful if the picture is taken by a professional photographer lol. If so you can send them to my email address on my post. Thanks!

Actually, if you google "Volterra" but then click on the "Images" link in the Google menu bar, you often will find lots of non-pro tourist snapshots that have put up on "flickr" and other 'net photo sites by visitors, complete with person in Lands End parka standing in piazza, grinning at camera.

Here is what my DH wrote in his little travelog:


Volterra is San Gimignano without towers, but with rich Roman and Etruscan history. Its medieval core is preserved quite well, and there are several attractions that may be worth checking out, most of them within a stone’s throw of the central Piazza dei Priori.

We stopped only by Museo Etrusco Guarnacci, which is slightly off from center on Via Don Minzoni. It holds an interesting collection of Etruscan pieces bequeathed to town by a local ruler in 18th century. Nearby Parco Archeologico is a pleasant space with a few other ancient artifacts, such as stone bathtubs, on open-air display.

The magnificent Roman Amphitheatre ♥ can be viewed from a high vantage point from within the city walls or toured (we chose the former).
Places to Eat

We had a pretty good lunch at Ombra della Sera ♥ on Via Gramsci. Nothing spectacular, but a very well-prepared Tuscan cuisine. Fairly extensive menu and friendly service. Our damage: €65 for four people, including wine. Last visit: Summer 2008.

Happy travels!

all i can say is WOW. Absolutely beautiful! I love hearing about these small towns that a lot of tourists luckily miss. Any other good suggestions for small untouristy towns. Maybe some with a good market

Volterra has always been one of my favs. However, it is no longer off-the-path---the tour busses have found it.

I will e-mail you my Italy itineerary, which has lots of stuff about small villages that are somewhat undiscovered

Stu Dudley

thanks again stududley

HI; If your looking for a town that many tourists miss, visit Monteriggioni. wikipedia.org/wiki/monteriggioni ENJOY Iris P.S. You can review the history of towns you want to visit by just adding the town to the wikipedia web site. wikipedia.org/wiki/volterra

If you go to Volterra you should also go to San Gim and Monteriggioni (after seeing Volterra). It's a lot to see in one day but it can be done; 2 days would be better.

It's still worth a visit despite the increase in the number of tourists thronging its streets over the past five years http://www.volterra.net . Apparently it was publicised by the same influential individual who put the Cinque Terre on the circuit. Don't miss the Etruscan Museum.

Here are a few photos I took in 2006.

http://travelswithdiane.homestead.co...16Tuscany.html

I have to jump in here.
I spent 12 days in October touring Tuscany and scheduled 4 of those days in the Volterra/San Gimignano area.
On my first drive through Volterra, I was sorely unimpressed - it was late in the day, and I needed to find my pensione, so admittedly, it was a drive through, and I did not like what I saw.
But Volterra was on my must see list, and so I went back the next day - found the free parking lot and discovered a wonderful old central town. Yes, you will find tourists, but unlike so many of the other hill towns, Volterra has a an independant living, breathing industry separate from tourism - alabaster. Visiting the alabaster workshops was a highlight.
I even went back again 2 days layer to the Balze cliffs to see the erosion where the alabaster mining has undermined the very foundations of the town.
To say the least - Volterra enchanted me.
Monteriggioni? -come on- a fun 20 minute stroll , but where's the substance?
And San Gimi itself - not big enough to handle the hordes. My 2 cents.
My favorites were Volterra, Montepulciano & Montalcino.
Siena doesn't really count because I put it in a class with Florence - big and very culturally rich.

Volterra is great. We drove there for a day from Cortona. Easy parking, great sites, good walking town, and we ate at a restaurant called Etruria. I don't remember the street. But the meal was very, very good. The place looks very 'upscale' inside but the prices are very reasonable. One dish I recommend everyone have, and it's great as a 'primi' as well as 'secondi', depending on how hungry you are of course, is Pappardella with Wild Boar Sauce. It's a Tuscan dish and you can get it at most places. Forget what a wild boar looks like, they taste great:).