Famed for its association with Stephenie Meyer’s Twilight novels, Volterra is a walled town situated in the Pisa province, not far from Siena and Florence. It’s believed the author wanted a fictional city “Volturin” in Tuscany that had a square and clock tower from which to set the series. It’s understood Volterra was used in the Twilight series but for the New Moon film, the Volterra scenes were actually filmed in Montepulciano in Italy.
Either way, Volterra is a beautiful mountaintop town, ripe for exploring. Dating back to the 7th century BC, it’s well known for its Etruscan origins and for the remains belonging to this era. Excavations of Etruscan tombs can be found in the Valle Bona area.
Volterra’s Etruscan city walls include the preserved Porta all’Arco and Porta Diana city gates. Notable sights in the town include Piazza dei Priori, a medieval town square where you’ll also find the Palazzo dei Priori town hall, a Roman theatre which dates back to the first century and the Baptistery of San Giovanni. Volterra Cathedral houses a ciborium, angels by Mino da Fiesole, a Romanesque sculpture, paintings by various artists with the Addolorata Chapel nearby. Volterra is also home to Fortezza Medicea, a Medicean Fortress.
Volterra is also renowned for Dolceria del Corso – a very special pastry shop which is owned and run by the wonderful Giovannini family. They hosted us at the incredible Villa Le Cappane which is situated in the Tuscan hills and available from Bookings For You. You can read more about our stay here. We paid Volterra a somewhat fleeting visit as we were all heading off to Siena but these photographs are just a taste of what you can expect when you visit. We fell in love with Volterra the moment we arrived, it’s a beautiful place to lose yourself for a few hours that’s for sure.
Volterra is such a historic and scenic place. It’s so beautiful!