Today we took a party to Volterra.
Easter is now upon us and we have people in for the Easter Weekend. So today we set off from Bagni di Lucca under blue skies and sunshine to the hills of southern Tuscany through the Chianti wine regions then high up into the hills past Lajatica the home village of Andrea Bocelli where he is performing a live concert on 25th July in the Teatro di Silencio.
We will be returning here to see the concert in the open air Theatre on 25th July with more guests as I have arranged a Bocelli concert package. ( I still have access to a few tickets if anyone is interested)
We arrived at Volterra at about 11.00am the panoramic views are fantastic and our guest just stood and stared out over the Tuscan countryside.
Volterra is a town of great architectural interest located 1770 feet above the sea level, between the rivers Bra and Cecina here in Tuscany, Italy. The main features are two fine castles and numerous Etruscan remains. The ambience of Volterra is extremely attractive, easily rivaling that of the more famous Tuscan destination of San Gimignano
The Cathedral (Duomo) of Volterra, consecrated by Callistus II in 1120, was enlarged by Andrea Pisano in 1254, and again in 1576. The high altar is adorned with sculpture by Mino da Fiesole.
Among the pictures is an “Annunciation” by Luca Signorelli, and there are pictures by Benvenuto di Giovanni, Leonardo da Pistoia, and others. In the baptistery (1283) are a font by Sansovino and a ciborium by Mino da Fiesole.
THE TWILIGHT SAGA “NEW MOON
More recently Volterra has become well known due to the novel and film The Twilight Saga New Moon
The novel and film of this name are set partly in Volterra. The film, starring Kristen Stewart, Robert Pattinson, and Taylor Lautner, retains the setting, presumably to stay consistent with the novel and because the Volturi vampire clan take their name from Volterra
This was the highlight of the visit for Shona, one young girl in the party as she was an avid fan and knew everything about the book and the film and could immediately recognise the locations mentioned in both. Today was a great trip out to Volterra with a really good lunch in one of the many restaurants ( a 2 course meal of pasta followed by roast pork and including drinks all for 12 euro) I will definitely bring guests back to eat here.
The afternoon was spent checking the many shops selling local alabaster products, great local produce ( cheese and wines) and even Twilight Saga products for Shona.
After ice creams, coffee and a visit to the local chocolate shop with hand made Easter Eggs a very contented group made their way home to tuscanrooms.
Happy Easter to all
Paul and Colette
Tags: Bagni di Lucca
I agree with you comment that Volterra rivals San Gimignano. We loved it! It is far less crowded that S G and has heaps of interesting things to see and do.