Jan and Bo's Tales From The Mediterranean: Volterra

We were able to say arrivederci to our hosts, at Castello di Cosona, and pass along our wishes to Nonna. She is 96 now and keeps her mind sharp reading and doing crossword puzzles. Just amazing! It is always heart-wrenching to leave our Scuola apartment here. Now we start counting the days until we can return! Or perhaps we should count our friends, the sheep instead. Greeting us upon our arrival was not enough. They decided to block the road for us as we were leaving. While the sheep were our friends, the sheep dogs were decidedly not. Five of them came out and gave our Fiat hell while we were patiently waiting for the sheep to cross. Next visit we will have to have some bistecca on hand to placate the dogs!

Volterra is an island in the sky and the road to it is like driving through Big Sur. Simply dizzying! Our previous visit here was only a couple of hours, so this time we spent a couple of days to better explore Etruscan history. Evidence of the Etruscan civilization has been found in central Italy dating back to 900 B.C. Traces of Etruscan ruins and museums can be found in many villages and towns. Tombs and artifacts are still being discovered. They were far more advanced than their neighbors, as represented by their mining of metals (800 years before the Bronze Age) for making ingots for trade and some very finely crafted jewelry. They drained and irrigated land that became the fertile breadbasket of Central Italy. Some of the most famous Etruscan sights are Circus Maximus in Rome, the necropolis and underground tunnel dwellings in Orvieto, the Etruscan gate (Porta all’Arco, from the 4th century B.C.) in Volterra.

On our first trip to Italy, Volterra inspired me to write that this was a castle and the people were living day-to-day ordinary lives just as the rest of us-except they get to do it in a castle! A walled castle! Going to work, shopping, cooking, sleeping-in a walled city/castle!! Quick wake me up-we just did it! It is as beautiful and historic as Orvieto, just more rustic. We stayed in the wonderful La Locanda Hotel-well, wonderful until the locals decided to have a meeting outside of our windows at midnight-located just inside the city walls.

We spent most of our time here moving between the various Etruscan and Roman sites and museums. The highlights were the Roman Amphitheater and the Etruscan Museum. And since Volterra is the Alabaster capitol of Italy, the Alabaster Museum. The Alabaster artwork is beautiful, as well as its practical applications. Many churches’ windows were outfitted with Alabaster so thin as to allow light through.

We could only look upon the massive Medici Fortress from the Archaeological Park, as the fortress is being used as a maximum security prison for special prisoners, keeping them far away from their Sicilian families. (With some serious planning we could probably break Tony out). While the Archaeological Park is a delightful treed green area in town, it is also home to archaeological digs of Etruscan temple foundations going back to 1500 B.C.

Had a snack at a local bar called Vena di Vina whose ceiling was decorated with donations of bras and a VW body! Kind of strange but it worked. A Rick Steves pick. Found our favorite apertivo spot and re-energized! They have monumental music-La Traviata-this weekend, the Tartuffo Bianco (white truffle) festival, major shopping for all fashionistas and a fabulous restaurant scene. We had dinner at one of the top ones-Del Duca. Oh my! Bo can’t get enough wild boar (Cinghuale) and I had Pigeon (Squab as known to the rest of the world and quite possibly harvested from one of Italy’s pigeon crowded piazzas). It actually tasted quite a bit like goose breast. We had a local wine that was a blend of Sangiovese and Merlot-mouthwatering! Desserts were equally delicious. Bowen had his favorite Creme Brûlée w/Rhum flavor. I had the Semi Freddo with crumbled amaretti. Both were amazing!

Next up a brief stop at a Civitavecchia B&B, which we will be using as a base to explore 2 very important Etruscan ruins. Then enough already with the Etruscans. We’ll move on to Sorrento and the Almalfi coast to enjoy La Dolce Vita!

Our Friends Saying Goodbye