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00 Volterra
Stemma di Volterra

Tuscany · Pisa

Volterra

The Etruscan acropolis of Velathri at 531 meters, the alabaster town that has been carving the same stone for three thousand years.

Best time
Apr–Oct
By car
1 h from Siena
Population
9,537

Known for

  • ALABASTER

    Carved here continuously since the Etruscans, the workshops on Via Porta all'Arco still cut and polish the soft local stone.

  • VELATHRI

    One of the twelve Etruscan dodecapolis cities, the only one still occupied on its original ground.

  • WHITE TRUFFLE

    The Volterra hills are part of the Tuscan white-truffle territory, celebrated each October at the Volterragusto fair.

When to visit

Best · Apr–Oct

  • J9°
  • F11°
  • M13°
  • A16°
  • M21°
  • J26°
  • J31°
  • A30°
  • S24°
  • O19°
  • N13°
  • D10°
  • Best
  • Hot or crowded
  • Quiet
  • Mostly closed

Daytime averages, 2020–2024. Weather data by Open-Meteo.com.

The festa: Giusto e Clemente, 5 June

Why come

Volterra sits at 531 meters on a long ridge between the Era and Cecina valleys, one of the twelve cities of the Etruscan dodecapolis and the only one still occupied on its original ground. The Etruscans called it Velathri, the Romans Volaterrae; the Porta all'Arco, with three blackened tufa heads of unknown deities, has been the western gate of the town since the fourth century BC. The Roman theater below the walls, excavated in the 1950s, holds two complete rows of columns and the bath complex behind the stage.

Above stands the Palazzo dei Priori, begun in 1208 and the oldest town hall in Tuscany, the model for Florence's Palazzo Vecchio. The town has been carving alabaster since the Etruscans, who used it for funerary urns; the same workshops on Via Porta all'Arco still cut and polish the soft white stone today. Le Balze, the eroded clay cliffs west of town, swallow a few meters of churchyard every century.

We've been

Feature from our free newsletter

Road to Siena | The Long Way Is the Better Way

The wine is the whole economy of these hills, every village with its own, the region’s name stamped on the most famous red in Italy. Tuscan food runs to cured and roasted meat, so the wine ran red to meet it, lighter than you expect, almost fruity, easy, made to sit beside a steak and not to be lectured about. Here is the only wine knowledge you need on this road: it is all good.

From the Volterra letter, July 2026

Read the full feature on anywhereitaly.com

Read on

Volterra in our articles

How to get there

From Florence / Pisa (PSA), about 1h 31m by car.

Bologna (BLQ) is about 2h 17m away.

By car from the centre of Siena 1 hour, Pisa 1h 24m or Florence 1h 25m.

Coming by train into Livorno Centrale? Volterra is about 1h 20m away by road.

Every town within reach of Florence / Pisa airport.

Volterra, photo 1
Volterra, photo 2

What to see

  • Porta all'Arco

    Etruscan city gate from the fourth century BC, with three eroded tufa heads of unknown deities set above the arch.

  • Teatro Romano

    First-century BC Roman theater excavated in the 1950s, with two complete rows of columns and the bath complex behind the stage.

  • Palazzo dei Priori

    Begun in 1208, the oldest town hall in Tuscany, the architectural model for Florence's Palazzo Vecchio.

  • Museo Etrusco Guarnacci

    One of the oldest public museums in Europe (1761), holding more than six hundred Etruscan funerary urns in alabaster and tufa.

  • Fortezza Medicea

    Fifteenth-century Medici fortress, still used as a maximum-security prison, with the famous Mastio circular keep.

  • Le Balze

    Eroded clay cliffs west of town, advancing inward by a few meters per century and swallowing medieval churches at their edge.

  • Duomo di Santa Maria Assunta

    Twelfth-century Romanesque cathedral with a Romanesque-Pisan façade and a polychrome wood Deposition by anonymous Tuscan masters.

The slow-trip planner

Building a trip? Find where Volterra fits in a slow Italy circuit.

Answer five questions. We will shape a geographically coherent slow trip from the 1,000 Italian towns most travelers skip. Yours to save and share.

Plan your trip

We recommend

Where to eat and stay

Not our picks, but places the guides put their name to: a Michelin star, a Gambero Rosso fork, a Slow Food snail, a Michelin Key for the hotels. Worth a table, a counter, or a night when you pass through.

  • Villa PignanoRistorante

    Villa Pignano carries two Gambero Rosso forks (81/100), plus a spot in the Michelin Guide.

  • Enoteca Del DucaRistorante

    Enoteca Del Duca holds a spot in the Michelin Guide.

  • Borgo Pignano Volterra TuscanyHotel

    Borgo Pignano Volterra Tuscany has a place in the Michelin hotel guide to its name.

Through the year

What happens here

Feasts and festivals that come back year after year. We give the month rather than the date, because the date moves and the month rarely does. Check with the source before you plan a journey around one.

Living here

  • Population 9,537
  • Remotei
  • Pharmacy in town
  • High school within a 30-minute drive
  • Nearest airport Florence / Pisa, 1 h 31 min drive
  • Regional capital Firenze, 1 h 25 min drive

Common questions

What is Volterra known for?
Volterra is the Etruscan acropolis of Velathri at 531 meters, the alabaster town that has been carving the same stone for three thousand years.
Where is Volterra?
Volterra is a comune in the province of Pisa, in Tuscany.
What is the nearest airport to Volterra?
Florence / Pisa (PSA), about 1h 31m by car.
How long is the drive from Siena to Volterra?
About 1 hour by car.
When is the best time to visit Volterra?
Best in Apr–Oct. July is the warmest month, averaging 31 degrees, and December the wettest, with about 13 rain days.
Is there a sagra or a festival in Volterra?
Yes. Mostra Mercato del Tartufo Marzuolo, Palio del Cero di Volterra and Volterra A.D. 1398, and 2 more we hold a source for. April is when the first of them falls.
Which other towns are like Volterra?
Barga, Montalcino and Manciano.
How many people live in Volterra?
9,537 at the 2023 count.
Tags & datadesignations · numbers · sources

The numbers

  • Elevation: 531 m
  • Population: 9,537
  • Surface area: 252.85 km²

These figures were compiled from public directories: ISTAT, OpenStreetMap and Wikidata, and from the official listings of the guides named on this page. Town details change; verify with official sources before you travel.

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