VOLTERRA - GUIDED WALKING TOURS WITH LOCAL GUIDES
 CLASSICAL TOUR: Volterra is the town of the legendary Etruscans and the snow-white alabaster.We start our guided tour on top of the medieval town wall with a view of the untouched Tuscan landscape. On bright days, you can even see Corsica from there. In a 5-minute walk, we reach the Arco Etrusco, the 2300-year-old Etruscan gateway. Through small streets and peaceful little squares, we reach the Roman theatre and the adjacent thermal baths. The culmination of our tour is the medieval Piazza dei Priori, flanked by the town hall and the Duomo where we see the famous thirteenth century sculpture of The Deposition and works of Benozzo Gozzoli and Fra Bartolomeo. Our tour concludes with a visit of the Baptistery situated in front of the Duomo. Duration: 1,5 - 2 hrs.  URBAN TREKKING: This is real fun! Our tour through hilly town streets does not require any special physical preparation and offers a new and entertaining way to get to know the extraordinary beauties of this town known for its clean air. Through hidden streets and narrow alleys, which unexpectedly reveal unforgettable views of the surrounding landscape, we discover the history and art of this unique medieval town - undisturbed by noisy traffic and in close connection with the traditions of the local craft. We recommend good and comfortable shoes!Duration: 2 hrs.  ALABASTER: From a strict scientific point of view, alabaster is a very fine-grained variety of gypsum, a hydrous sulfate of calcium (CaSO4). The extraordinary beauty of this delicate material was already realized by Etruscans artists. However, it can be only discovered by a close look and feel with your own hands. Our guided tour of an alabaster workshop introduces a 2500 years-old local artisanship. We strongly recommend to complement this tour with our guided visit of the Guarnacci Museum of Etruscan Art.Duration: 1,5 - 2 hrs.  MUSEO ETRUSCO GUARNACCI: The museum, founded in 1761, is one of the oldest museums of Europe and boasts an extraordinary rich collection of Etruscan Art.Our guided tour centers on the most important and illustrative items which have been preserved as witness of the long history of Etruscan Volterra. We will emphasize the interpretation of the symbolic religious meaning of Etruscan art. Duration: 1,5 - 2 hrs. Entrance fee: combined group ticket (with Pinacoteca and Museo Diocesano): 5 € p.p.  MUSEO DIOCESANO DI ARTE SACRA: The museum houses a collection of archeological items, sculptures and paintings from the churches of the diocese.Integral part of this tour are the works of Andrea della Robbia, Taddeo di Bartolo, Antonio del Pollaiolo, Rosso Fiorentino and Giambologna. Duration: 1,5 hrs. Entrance fee: combined group ticket (with Museo Etrusco and Pinacoteca): 5 € p.p.  PINACOTECA: Since 1982, the art collection of the pinacoteca is located in the Minucci-Solaini palace. On our guided tour through the museum, we see the Deposition (1521) of Rosso Fiorentino and important paintings of Taddeo di Bartolo, Domenico Ghirlandaio and Luca Signorelli, which illustrate the artistic influence from Pisa, Siena and Florence.Duration: 1,5 - 2 hrs. Entrance fee: biglietto cumulativo (con Museo Guarnacci e Museo Diocesano) per gruppi: 5 € p.p. *** A FEW STEPS FROM VOLTERRA  CHEESE: It's easy to make good cheese. Just take the opposite to our frenetic daily life - time and respect for the rhythm of nature - and milk becomes delicate scent and distinctive taste. Our guided tour introduces you to the art of pecorino cheese making: step by step, you will follow the entire course of cheese production, from the flock of sheep peacefully grazing on pasture to the fermentation process, the maturing techniques and final refinement with local herbs and spices. The tour ends with a guided tasting of 5 types of Tuscan pecorine cheese.Duration: 1 - 1,5 hrs. Tasting: price on request  TRUFFLES: The province of Pisa is privileged habitat for truffles! Their search and use in local gourmet restaurants has a long tradition. Here, the white truffle embodies rural and social micro-history. In the San Miniato area and in hilly Volterra, fairs and village banquets celebrate the maturing of these tasty fungi, which thrive under oak trees and poplars. During our guided tour, you will accompany a licensed truffle hunter and his trained truffle-sniffing dog in an exciting hunt for truffles. After this you will participate in a delicious truffles tasting!Duration: 2 hrs. Entrance fee (privat truffle hunting reserve) and tasting: price on request. MUSEO DELLE MINIERE: Situated in a small medieval village, this museum illustrates the history of Europe's richest copper mine during 1827 to 1907. Our guided tour not only points out the various technical aspects of Tuscan mining but also focuses on the social life and the work of the miners, who influenced the history of this area since mining started in the Etruscan period. Duration: 1,5 hrs. Entrance fee: 5 € p.p. MUSEO DELLA GEOTERMIA: The museum documents the history of the exploitation of geothermal energy from the Etruscan period over the first drilling in 1828 and the subsequent industrial use up to the construction of an ecological power plant. At the end of our guided tour we experience the opening of a 740 meter-deep blowhole, from which the steam emanates with a deafening roar. Duration: 1,5 - 2 hrs. |  |
