Things to do in Volterra

No. 17 of Best Things to Do in Tuscany

San Gimignano

San Gimignano is a medieval hill town. The ancient pilgrimage route to Rome once passed through the city, and caravans and pilgrims brought prosperity to its trade. Local families accumulated great wealth through saffron and wine, and they took their rivalry to the skies—nobles competed to build towers. At its peak, there were over 70 stone towers in the city. Today, more than 10 still stand among the red-tiled roofs. Such a cluster of towers is hard to find elsewhere in Tuscany, which is why people call this small town the "medieval Manhattan." The old town is completely enclosed by 13th-century walls and gates. Entering through Porta San Giovanni, the cobblestone Via San Giovanni is lined with stone mansions and small shops. As you walk gently uphill, it leads to two core squares: the triangular Piazza della Cisterna, centered around an ancient well, where towers and medieval houses create a quiet atmosphere; and the adjacent Piazza Duomo, where you can climb the Torre Grossa, which stands about 54m tall next to the town hall. Standing on the observation deck at the top, you can take in the entire cluster of towers, red-tiled roofs, and the rolling vineyards and olive groves outside the city. The cathedral by the square is easily overlooked, but the interior is filled with medieval biblical frescoes and is worth a closer look. The entire old town can be traversed on foot, making it suitable for a half-day excursion when traveling round-trip between Florence and Siena. If you want to take panoramic photos of the tower cluster, you can walk to the slopes outside the city walls and look back at the ancient city. The local white wine, Vernaccia, has been famous since the Middle Ages, and using saffron in cooking is also a long-standing local tradition.

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Cathedral of Santa Maria del Fiore

• Known as the main church of the Catholic Archdiocese of Florence and the third largest church in the world • Consisting of the main church, bell tower and baptistery, it is not only large in scale, but also a representative building of the entire early Renaissance • The cathedral has a 19th-century Gothic Revival-style facade. Its exterior is paved with marble blocks of different shades of white, green and pink. The colors are colorful and harmonious △ In 1982, the cathedral was listed as a World Cultural Heritage as part of the historical center of Florence. After entering the church, you can climb up to the dome from the small door on the side. You need to climb 463 steps, and then overlook the entire city of Florence. △ The bell tower of the church is a Gothic building, 85 meters high. It consists of a six-story square structure stacked upward into a column. The outer wall is paved with white marble, which is pure and elegant, bringing more momentum to the majestic church.

No. 5 of Best Things to Do in Italy

Piazza del Duomo

Piazza del Duomo is located in the heart of the historic center of Florence, which was inscribed on the UNESCO World Heritage List in 1982. The square has been the city's religious center since the Middle Ages. In the late 13th century, surrounding residential buildings were demolished to build the new cathedral and bell tower, and it was gradually expanded over the following centuries to its current size. The square brings together three iconic buildings: theCathedral of Santa Maria del Fiore, Giotto's Bell Tower, and The Baptistery of San Giovanni. Together, they form the "Cathedral of Santa Maria del Fiore complex," showcasing the evolution of architectural art in Florence from the Middle Ages to the Renaissance. The dome designed by Brunelleschi stands over 90 m high and is a striking visual focal point on the square's skyline. Historic buildings such as the Archbishop's Palace, the Cathedral Museum, and the Bigallo Museum are also located around the square. Standing in the center of the square and looking around, the facades of buildings from different eras and styles complement each other, making it a key location for experiencing the urban landscape of Florence.

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Uffizi Gallery

• Exhibits the private collection of the Medici family, including Botticelli's “Birth of Venus” and “Springtime”, Leonardo da Vinci's “Annunciation”, Raphael's “Virgin and Child with Saint Anna” and other works • Collect more than 100,000 precious exhibits, covering almost the entire history of art, from ancient Greek sculptures to 18th-century Venetian oil paintings • Learn about Renaissance works and review Italian classics △The Uffizi Gallery displays the private collection of the Medici family. The Medici family was an Italian aristocratic family with a long history. They collected many important Italian Renaissance works of art and donated them to the Uffizi Gallery, which became part of the Uffizi Gallery. △This is a gathering place for Renaissance paintings, including works by famous painters such as Botticelli, Raphael, Leonardo da Vinci, and Michelangelo. They are divided into more than 90 exhibition halls according to creation time and creative genre.

No. 8 of Best Things to Do in Tuscany

Siena Cathedral

Located in the historical, artistic and cultural center of Siena, the Cathedral is an example of Italian Roman and Gothic churches. As one of the largest churches in Italy, Siena Cathedral is still a church that is not fully completed according to its design. The marble floor in the church depicts history and biblical stories. These 56 floors were completed by many artists. The earliest sculpture was made of white carved marble filled with black stucco. The precious floor is only in Exhibited at certain times of the year. The exterior walls of the building are dominated by stripes of white and dark green marble, and the front is decorated with ornate façade statues, but most of these are replicas, and the originals are kept in the Opera Museum in the cathedral. The stained-glass windows in the cathedral are also very beautiful, but the important one from Duccio di Bonissegna is now in the Opera Museum. The Piccolomini Family Library (Libreria Piccolomini) is another highlight in the cathedral, with a series of frescoes depicting Piccolomini's life, which is very impressive. Next to the library is the Baptistery of St. John (BattisterodiSanGiovanni). The frescoed crypt (Cripta), located below the pulpit, was not discovered until 1999. Cathedral Opera Museum The Cathedral Opera Museum (Museodell'Opera) is one of the earliest private museums in Italy. The location of this church should be the original design of the nave corridor, but because it was not completed, a wall was built into a museum. Many original works of art in the cathedral are collected in the museum, and from here, you can climb the 131 stairs to reach the half-built vertical wall (Panoramadal Facciatone) to enjoy the panoramic view of the whole cathedral. Church masterpieces Some masterpieces in the cathedral: P. Lorenzetti (PietroLorenzetti): "Birthof the Virgin" (Birthof the Virgin), Duccio di Buoninsegna (Ducciodi Buoninsegna): "Sacred Cathedral of Siena" "(Maestà del Duomo di Siena), Donatello (Donatello): "Madonna of Forgiveness", are stored in the Cathedral Opera Museum.

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Gallery of the Academy of Florence

The Gallery of the Academy of Florence was established in 1784 by Grand Duke Pietro Leopoldo of Tuscany through the reorganization of Florence's art education institutions. It is located on the former sites of the San Matteo Hospital and the San Niccolò Monastery, with its origins tracing back to the Academy of Drawing Arts founded by Cosimo I de' Medici in 1563. The gallery's collection initially served as a teaching resource for students to copy original works. In 1873, to protect Michelangelo's David from exposure to the elements in Piazza della Signoria, the statue was secured on a wooden cart and transported through the center of Florence to the gallery. As the dedicated exhibition hall was not yet completed, it remained sealed in a wooden crate for nine years until the Tribune of David, designed by architect Emilio De Fabris, was finished and opened to the public. Today, David stands bathed in natural light from the skylight above, drawing countless visitors who come specifically to see it. The museum also displays a concentrated collection of Michelangelo's four unfinished sculptures, "The Prisoners," originally carved for Pope Julius II's tomb, along with the equally incomplete "St. Matthew." The human figures appear to be breaking free from the rough stone, offering a direct experience of his "unfinished" sculptural language. At the center of the Hall of the Colossus near the entrance stands Giambologna's full-scale terracotta model for the marble group "The Rape of the Sabine Women," created for the Loggia dei Lanzi. Surrounding it are 15th- to 16th-century Florentine paintings by Botticelli, Perugino, Filippino Lippi, and others. The 19th-century hall, originally a women's hospital ward, now replicates the studio of Lorenzo Bartolini, displaying plaster models. The museum also houses a musical instruments section, featuring a Stradivari viola and cello once owned by the Medici family, as well as early keyboard instruments made by Bartolomeo Cristofori, the inventor of the piano. The visitor route extends from the Hall of the Colossus at the entrance to the Hall of David at the end. Most travelers turn back to the exit after seeing "David," leaving the painting galleries and the musical instrument department on both sides with sparse crowds, making them great places for quiet art viewing. The museum is not large and has a clear layout. Long queues at the entrance are common during the peak season, but the painting galleries and musical instrument exhibition areas are less crowded and worth visiting as well.

Roman Theatre of Volterra

Museo Etrusco

The Etruscan Museum is located in Pisa, Italy, and is a well-known local attraction. Here, visitors can admire precious historical artifacts and learn more about the history and culture of Italy.

Volterra Museum of Torture

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Pantheon

The Pantheon is one of the best-preserved buildings of ancient Rome. It was originally commissioned around 27 BC by Agrippa, a general under Augustus, and later destroyed by fire. It was rebuilt in the 2nd century AD by Emperor Hadrian and stands as a masterpiece of ancient Roman architectural skill. Michelangelo once called it "a design of angels." The Pantheon houses the tomb of Renaissance artist Raphael, as well as those of Italian kings Victor Emmanuel II and Umberto I and other historical figures. The building is located in the heart of Rome, with the Piazza della Rotonda as its forecourt. In the center of the piazza stands an Egyptian obelisk, and beneath its base the fountain foundation is adorned with stone carvings of dolphins and masks. The main structure is a massive cylinder of equal width and height, topped by a hemispherical dome, with no windows inside. The surrounding niches once housed statues of the gods in ancient Roman times; today they contain the tombs of notable figures from various eras. At the apex of the dome is a circular oculus about 9 meters in diameter, which serves as the main source of light for the interior. Sunlight pours down from above, changing angle as the sun moves, and light and shadow slowly travel across the floor and walls, creating a solemn spatial atmosphere.