Porta a Selci

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Porta a Selci
Viale Vittorio Veneto
Volterra, September 2021

“The gate which leads to Siena, with a simple pointed arch was built in the 16th century to replace the earlier gate, known as the Sun Gate, destroyed when the fortress was erected in the 15th century.” (The Medieval Wall and the Gates, Volterra Online)

San Pietro in Selci

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San Pietro in Selci
Via Don Giovanni Minzoni
Volterra, September 2021

“San Pietro in Selci is an ancient church in Volterra, Italy. A church was initially established by Guiscard, Marquis of Tuscany in 1005, and part of the building we see today dates to the 12th century, but sports today a later Baroque facade with statues in tufa of San Lino and Saint Giusto by Leonardo Ricciarelli. The interior contains a painting of a Madonna with Child and Saints by the 15th century Master of Volterra, two canvases by Niccolò Circignani depicting respectively an Annunciation and the Glory of the Virgin, a canvas by Francesco Brini depicting an Immaculate Conception and a painted stucco with a Madonna and Child.” (San Pietro in Selci, Wikipedia)

Palazzo dei Priori

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Palazzo dei Priori
Piazza dei Priori
Volterra, September 2021

“The city hall is housed in the Palazzo dei Priori, one of the oldest palazzos still surviving in Tuscany. At almost 800 years old it is the province's oldest seat of continuous local government. This lavishly decorated building was the inspiration for the Palazzo Vecchio in Florence. An inscription near the main entrance tells visitors that the palace was designed by Maestro Riccardo in the early XIII century. The XII century witnessed decades of violent conflict between the nobility and the rule of bishops. This reached a climate mid-century when Galgano dei Pannocchieschi became the region's bishop. His rule was so unpopular that feudal lords and the town's growing middle classes united against him leading to the building of the Palazzo dei Priori as a symbol of the free commune. This newly formed commune purchased rights for the extraction of salt (the town's main source of income at the time), sulfur, vitriol or sulfuric acid, and alum from the surrounding areas of Larderello, Libbiano, and Sasso. However, the commune soon found itself struggling against the territorial expansion of Siena, Pisa and Florence. The three-story Palazzo dei Priori is built entirely of local stone. The facade is finished with cornices and crowned with semi-circular battlements, probably added in the XVI century. It is adorned with double arched windows and Della Robbia glazed terracotta arms of Florentine magistrates, added in the XV century. It also carries the canna volterrana, or medieval standard measurement of the commune, engraved between a banner and torch holders. In the late XV century, the palazzo became the seat of the Captain of Justice at which point two Marzocco lions, a Florentine symbol, were added to the facade.” (Palazzo dei Priori, ItalyGuide.it)

Porta San Francesco

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Porta San Francesco
Via San Lino
Volterra, September 2021

“This gate is also known as the Gate of Santo Stefano or the Pisan Gate as it leads to Pisa through the Era valley. It is the only gate that still preserves traces of the original frescoes painted in the vaults and an engraving of the Pisan canna, a unit of length, slightly longer than that of Volterra engraved on the façade of the Palazzo dei Priori” (The Medieval Wall and the Gates, Volterra Online)

Church of San Giusto

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Church of San Giusto
Piazzale XXV Aprile
Volterra, September 2021

“The Church of Santi Giusto e Clemente (Saints Justin and Clement) is an ancient church in Volterra, Pisa, Italy. It is also known as San Giusto or San Giusto Nuovo. For some 850 years, the Abbey of Sts. Justin and Clement was attached to it, and it was administered by the monks of that monastery. Construction of the present stone church was begun on October 28, 1628, based on designs by the architect Giovanni Coccapani, which were carried out by his pupil Ludovico Incontri. The new church was consecrated in 1775.” (Church of San Giusto, Wikipedia)

Madonna and Child

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Madonna and Child by Mariotto di Andrea, 15th century
Oratorio di San Cristoforo
Via Franceschini
Volterra, September 2021

Drago

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Drago (Dragon) by Alessandro Trafeli, 2018
Lungomura dei Pratini
Volterra, September 2021

“Guardiano difensore di antichi tesori e luoghi magici”
(Defender of ancient treasures and magical places)

Church of Sant'Alessandro

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Church of Sant'Alessandro
Borgo Sant'Alessandro
Volterra, September 2021

“The ancient roots of the church seem to date back to a pagan temple, whereas the church was consecrated in 1120 by Pope Callixtus II. Built with sandstone ashlar, it has a simple structure with a beamed ceiling and a square choir. A loggia from the 16th century hides part of the facade, which is refined by three big arches on top of pilaster strips with a semi-pillar. The door to the church is under the central arch, whereas the steps under the side-arches lead to the door itself. On the left side of the building, there’s a 13th-century-lunette portraying a hunting scene over a small now sealed up door. A painting of a cross by a Tuscan artist dating back to the 12th century is kept in the church. There are also two panels portraying Saints Atinia and Greciniana, two of the few remaining parts of the majestic altar made by Cosimo Daddi in the 16th century. A 15th-century-tabernacle is located on the right wall of the presbytery. It originally comes from the Santi Pietro e Paolo church in Coiano, in the municipality of Castelfiorentino, Valdelsa, but is part of Volterra’s diocese.” (The Sant'Alessandro Church in Volterra, VolterraTur)

Palazzo Pretorio

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Palazzo Pretorio
Piazza dei Priori
Volterra, September 2021

“The ‘Palazzo Pretorio’ with its humorous additions forms one side of the Piazza dei Priori. The palazzo seen today is the result of XIX century changes after the earthquake when several buildings were joined together and further embellished. In the past these buildings housed the Mayor's seat as well as providing accommodation for the Captain of the people's guard, hence its name of Praetorian or Pretorio. The palazzo's tower, the ‘Torre del Procellino’ is thought to be one of the oldest in the city. Its name translates simply as the Tower of the Little Pig because perched high up at the top of the tower next to a window is a quirky carved statue of a stone pig sitting on a little shelf. A careful observer, however, will spot that the tower has more than one pig. Another one is roughly carved in relief at the tower's base.” (Palazzo Pretorio and Torre del Porcellino, ItalyGuide.it)

Teatro Persio Flacco

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Teatro Persio Flacco (Persio Flacco Theater)
Via dei Sarti
Volterra, September 2021

“The Persio Flacco is an active opera and theater stage in Volterra, Italy. Volterra still lacked a proper indoor performance stage in the early nineteenth century. In 1816 a group of citizens, including cavaliere Bartolommeo Falchi, cavaliere Mario Maffei, Luigi Ducci, Francesco Cinci, and Luigi Campani, commissioned the architect Luigi Campani (an architect of the Grand Duke Ferdinand III of Tuscany). The theater was erected on the site of the palazzo belonging to Marchesi Incontri. Work began in 1816 and the theater was inaugurated in 1820. The main curtain (sipario) was painted by Nicola Contestabili, who represented Aulus Persius Flaccus, a Roman satirist and playwright born in Volterra, being led by the muses to the summit of Parnassus, ruled by Apollo. This gave the theater its final name. The ceiling over the seats was painted with Venus in a chariot drawn by swans, and the parapets, with cupids, garlands and vignettes, harmonizing with the curtain. All these beautiful decorations were lost with subsequent restorations. In 1820, a group of 60 prominent citizens formed the Academy of the Riuniti (of the reunited), and purchased the entire theater, assigning to each member property of the individual boxes and seats, and this organization has continuously maintained that theatrical activity. The theater was closed for physical repairs for 15 years, from 1984 to 1999, before the reopening, members donated their ownerships of seats and boxes to the Academy. This availed them of funds to pursue reconstruction.” (Persio Flacco Theater, Wikipedia)

Church of San Lino

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“Stories of the Life of Christ” by Cosimo Daddi, 1618ca
Church of San Lino
Via San Lino
Volterra, September 2021

“San Lino is a Renaissance-style, Roman Catholic church and former monastery in Volterra, region of Tuscany, Italy. It is located on Via San Lino in the historic center of the town. The adjacent former Franciscan order nunnery, now a hotel, was founded in 1480, supposedly on the home of the first-century saint and Pope Linus, who putatively followed Peter as the second pope and of whom little else can be documented. Legend holds that he was born in Volterra. Raffaelo Maffei, a native citizen who had been theologian for both Popes Julius II and Sixtus IV, endowed construction of the church and enlargement of the adjacent monastery (1517) at a cost of 80,000 scudi. The plain facade and portal were completed by 1513. The presbytery of the church contains a memorial bust (1522) of Maffei by Silvio da Fiesole (Silvio Cosini) with flanking statues of the Archangel Raphael and Beato Gerardo on his tomb by Fra Giovanni Angelo Montorsoli and Stagio Stagi. The interior ceiling is decorated with framed lunettes frescoed with images and scenes, including twelve Stories of the Life of Christ (circa 1618) by Cosimo Daddi. The church has a main altarpiece painted on wood with a Virgin and San Lino (1597) painted by Francesco Curradi, a Birth of Mary (17th century) by Cesare Dandini, and a Visitation also by Daddi.” (San Lino, Wikipedia)

Our Lady of the Assumption

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“L'Assunta che dona la cintola a San Tommaso” by Giovanni della Robbia, 1520
Oratorio di Sant'Antonio Abate
Via di Sotto
Volterra, September 2021

Baptismal font

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Baptismal font by Giovanni Vaccà, 1759
Statue of St John the Baptist by Giovanni Antonio Cybei, 1771
Battistero di San Giovanni (Baptistery of San Giovanni)
Piazza San Giovanni
Volterra, September 2021

“It has a painting (partially damaged during World War Two of the Assumption of the Virgin by Niccolò Circignani. Beside that altar is a marble font (1502) is by Andrea Sansovino. The Ciborium (1471) was completed by Mino da Fiesole. The baptismal font (1759) by Giovanni Vaccà. Above it rises a statue of St John the Baptist (1771) by Giovanni Antonio Cybei. The holy water receptacle is an ancient Roman sarcophagus.” (Volterra Baptistery of San Giovanni, Wikipedia)

Baptistery of San Giovanni

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Battistero di San Giovanni (Baptistery of San Giovanni)
Piazza San Giovanni
Volterra, September 2021

“The Baptistery of San Giovanni an octagonal thirteenth-century religious building standing just in front of the Duomo of Volterra, in the center of the city. It was supposedly set up in the seventh century at the site of a Roman temple dedicated to Sun worship. The façade is decorated with horizontal bands of white and dark green marble. The Romanesque Portal has been attributed to a follower of Nicola Pisano. The sixteenth-century altar inside has been assigned to Balsimelli da Settignano, using a design by Mino da Fiesole.” (Volterra Baptistery of San Giovanni, Wikipedia)

Bell tower of the cathedral

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Bell tower
Cattedrale di Santa Maria Assunta
(Cathedral of Santa Maria Assunta)
Piazza San Giovanni
Volterra, September 2021

“Nicola Pisano is said to have been involved in further reconstruction in the mid 13th century. The rustic stone façade was built in Romanesque style using spolia from the Roman theater of Volterra in the portal. The intarsia over the door is attributed to Pisano. In 1580, bishop Guido Serguidi, with the approval of Ferdinando I de' Medici, Grand Duke of Tuscany, commissioned the decoration of the intricately coffered ceiling of the nave and crossings, designed by Francesco Capriani, carved by Jacopo Pavolini, and gilded by Fulvo della Tuccia. The ceiling has sculpted reliefs of Saints Ugo, Giusto, Pope Linus, Clemente, Attinea, and Greciniana, round a central symbol of the Holy Spirit. The campanile of 1493 replaced an older belltower.” (Volterra Cathedral, Wikipedia)

Deposition of Christ

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“Deposition of Christ” by an unknown Volterran artist, 1228
Cattedrale di Santa Maria Assunta
(Cathedral of Santa Maria Assunta)
Piazza San Giovanni
Volterra, September 2021

“The Chapel of the Deposition has a group of five wooden polychrome figures representing the Deposition of Christ executed in 1228 by an unknown Volterran artist.” (Volterra Cathedral, Wikipedia)

Madonna dei Chierici

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“Madonna dei Chierici” by Francesco Valdambrino, early 15th century
Cattedrale di Santa Maria Assunta
(Cathedral of Santa Maria Assunta)
Piazza San Giovanni
Volterra, September 2021

“The next chapel is the Chapel of the Madonna dei Chierici, referring to a wooden icon of the Madonna, donated by Jacopo di Ciglio (known as il Barbialla), and carved by Francesco di Valdambrino (early 15th century).” (Volterra Cathedral, Wikipedia)

Arca di Sant'Ottaviano

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Marble sarcophagus by Raffaello di Andrea Cioli, 1522
Cattedrale di Santa Maria Assunta
(Cathedral of Santa Maria Assunta)
Piazza San Giovanni
Volterra, September 2021

“In the first chapel, the Chapel of Saint Ottaviano, the relics of this saint are kept in a marble sarcophagus to the right of the altar, sculpted by Raffaello di Andrea Cioli. It was commissioned in 1522 to thank the saint for his intervention in stopping an epidemic of the plague; the candle holders depicting angels are by Andrea Ferrucci.” (Volterra Cathedral, Wikipedia)

Main altar

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Main altar with marble ciborium
Cattedrale di Santa Maria Assunta
(Cathedral of Santa Maria Assunta)
Piazza San Giovanni
Volterra, September 2021

“The main altar, mainly dating from the 19th century, has a marble ciborium with flanking angels (1471) by Mino da Fiesole. The choir stalls were completed in the 14th century. In the ceiling of the crossing are depictions of God the Father and Stories of the Life of the Virgin (1585) above the choir by Niccolò Circignani.” (Volterra Cathedral, Wikipedia)

Pulpit

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Pulpit
Cattedrale di Santa Maria Assunta
(Cathedral of Santa Maria Assunta)
Piazza San Giovanni
Volterra, September 2021

“The pulpit has three reliefs depicting the Last Supper, the Annunciation, and the Sacrifice of Isaac, and the lions at the base of the columns are undoubtedly 12th-century works of the Guglielmo school, perhaps carved by the Pisan sculptor Bonamico. Other elements and the alabaster intarsia were added in 1584, when an earlier balustrade was dismantled and the pulpit was reconstructed.” (Volterra Cathedral, Wikipedia)