Volterra was know to the Etruscans as Velathri. The Romans called it Volaterre. It is believed to have been inhabited from at least the 8th century BC.
We have visited Volterra before and you can see the post here. It is worth going back to look at the post just to see the clever tree. The town is well worth several visits.
The drive to Volterra from Bagni di Lucca is lovely. We wound our way along narrow roads through the beautiful Tuscan hills. The fields were being ploughed and planted for the next season’s crops. Even on a dull day everything looked delightful.
The town has the usual gorgeous rooftops.
The ruins of the Roman amphitheatre are very impressive.
The Duomo S Maria Assunta has some very beautiful art.
The lovely park at the top of the town offers a great view of Rocca Nuova. On our last visit we were unaware that it is an operating prison. In this photo you can see the guard tower.
There are more ruins beside the park, but they were closed when we were there. I took this photo through the fence.
Being fairly unadventurous we went to the same restaurant as last time, Ristorante del Duca, and had another great lunch.
Volterra has some excellent shops. Etruscan style jewellery and alabaster products are well represented. It would be easy to spend many hours browsing in this lovely Tuscan town.