Home of the master craftsmen of alabaster

Volterra, famous for the extraction and processing of alabaster, was one of the main city-states of ancient Tuscany (Etruria).
The hill on which Volterra stands was already inhabited during the early Iron Age. The walls, still largely visible today, were built at the end of the 4th century BC.
The Cathedral of Volterra, in Romanesque style, was raised several times between the twelfth and thirteenth centuries. The interior, restored in the nineteenth century, features late-Renaissance elements. The bell tower that stands next to the front of the church is an elegant fifteenth-century building. Opposite the Cathedral stands the Baptistery of San Giovanni; built in the second half of the thirteenth century, the building is surmounted by a dome.