Volterra, Tuscany: The Hill Town We Keep Going Back To

We found Volterra through Instagram, of all places, years before we ever set foot in Tuscany. An account called Girl in Florence kept posting about a hill town with a massive stone gate, and it stuck with us long enough that once we actually moved to Italy, it became one of our first day trips. That first trip was built around the AD 1398 festival. We stayed at Hotel Casolare Le Terre Rosse, close enough to walk into the festival at night and still get some quiet.

We've only been back once since, that time with my brother, my niece, and Dylan. No Lisa, no festival. But we still loved the town.

Best Tours & Experiences in Volterra

Planning to experience more than Volterra's medieval streets? Browse the top-rated wine tastings, cooking classes, guided walking tours and unforgettable experiences available in and around Volterra.

Every hill town in this region has its old gate, and after enough of them, they start to blur together. Not Porta all'Arco. Lisa still brings this one up unprompted, usually to say it's more impressive than Montepulciano's, and she's not wrong. The gate dates to the fourth or third century BC, built from three different tones of stone, with three weathered heads carved into the top believed to represent Etruscan gods roughly equivalent to Jupiter, Juno, and Minerva. It's considered one of the oldest doorways in the region still in daily use. Nothing roped off, nothing behind glass. You just walk through it into town like everyone else.

There's a wartime story attached to it too. As German troops were retreating during World War II, Volterrans pulled up paving stones from the street and packed them into the gate to keep it from being blown up. It's still standing because of that.

Palazzo dei Priori and the Tower

We climbed the tower at Palazzo dei Priori too. It's the oldest building of its kind in Tuscany, built between 1208 and 1257, and it's actually the model Florence used later for the Palazzo Vecchio. You can take the lift or walk the 52 steps up, and the view over the rooftops is worth either option.

The Guarnacci Etruscan Museum

The Guarnacci is the museum to prioritize if you only have time for one in Volterra. It was founded in 1761, when a local collector named Mario Guarnacci donated his entire collection to the town, making it one of the earliest public museums in Europe. Inside are more than 600 Etruscan funerary urns, carved with everything from ornamental rosettes to scenes of the journey to the underworld.

Fortezza Medicea, Which Is Still a Working Prison

The Fortezza Medicea sits above town, and it's not just a historic backdrop for the festival. Florence built it in 1472 after conquering Volterra, and part of it still functions as a high-security prison today. Inmates run a theater and art program inside, and some of what they make is shown in a small museum open to the public. It's one of the stranger, more memorable facts about this town.

A Festival That Takes Over the Entire Town

Once a year, for two weekends in August, Volterra turns itself into a full medieval town called AD 1398, knights, flag-wavers, monks, a currency swap, and food stalls straight out of the 1300s. We went in 2017, right after we moved to Italy, and it's still one of the best festivals we've done in Tuscany. Dylan was nine, and between getting locked in an iron cage in the main square and grinding his own bag of salt at a medieval stall, it's a day he still brings up. We wrote a full breakdown of what the festival is actually like, the currency, the kids' activities, the night parade: Volterra AD 1398: Inside Tuscany's Medieval Festival.

The Torture Museum You Kind of Have to Do

Dylan has asked to visit a torture museum in literally every town we've taken him to in Italy. Volterra is the one place he actually got his wish. The Museo della Tortura sits just off Piazza XX Settembre and covers torture and execution methods used from the Middle Ages through the late 1700s, including a section on the Inquisition. Chastity belts, spiked collars, stocks, an actual hanging cage. It's laid out clearly and well-lit, more educational than gory, and if you're traveling with a kid who's into this kind of thing, it delivers.

Alabaster, If You Want to Bring Something Home

Volterra has been a center for alabaster carving since the Etruscans worked the stone here in the third century BC, and the tradition never really disappeared. It faded for a stretch and then came back hard in the 1700s, when local artisans rediscovered the old techniques. Workshops around town still hand-carve and hand-polish alabaster the way they always have. Some of that polishing is done by women called lucidatrici, whose job is specifically to bring out the stone's glow. If you're looking for something to actually bring home from Tuscany that isn't a bottle of wine, this is it.

Ruins, and a View Worth the Climb

Beyond the festival and the gate, Volterra has real Etruscan ruins and an old Roman theater on the edge of town, with views out over the surrounding hills that are worth the walk on their own. We've never rushed this part of a visit. It's the kind of spot where you end up sitting longer than you planned to.

Wait, Wasn't This the Twilight Town?

Volterra is where the Twilight books and movies set the Volturi, the vampire ruling family, and plenty of visitors show up expecting a Twilight pilgrimage. Here's the twist: most of what was actually filmed for those scenes was shot in Montepulciano, not here. Volterra gets the fictional credit, Montepulciano got the film crew. If you're chasing movie locations specifically, that's the town to visit instead. If you just want the real Volterra, that's exactly what you'll get here.

Where We Stayed

For the festival trip, we booked Hotel Casolare Le Terre Rosse, a few minutes outside town, which worked well for going back and forth between the festival grounds and somewhere quiet to sleep. It's a solid option if you want to be close without staying inside the walls.

Getting There and Parking

By Car

A car is the easiest way in, same as most of this region. Parking is outside the walls, and it's an uphill walk into the historic center from most of the lots, so plan for that if you're traveling with anyone who struggles with stairs or inclines.

By Train

There's no train station in Volterra itself, but you can get close. Trains from Pisa run to Volterra Saline-Pomarance, usually with a change in Cecina, and from there local bus line 780 covers the last stretch into town in about 20 minutes.

By Bus

Buses connect Volterra to nearby larger stations like Cecina and Pontedera if the train schedule doesn't line up. It's not a fast option, but it works if you don't have a car.

If You're Traveling Solo, or With Kids

Volterra works for both ends of that spectrum. Outside festival weekends, it's quiet enough to wander alone without needing much of a plan. With kids, the torture museum alone will buy you an hour of goodwill from a bored ten-year-old. Just know that during the AD 1398 weekends, the town is genuinely packed, so it's not the moment for a slow, empty-streets kind of visit.

Know Before You Go

When to visit: The AD 1398 festival runs the second and third Sundays of August if you want Volterra at its most alive. Outside that, it's a quieter, easier town to explore at your own pace.

How to get there: A car is easiest. Train is possible via Volterra Saline-Pomarance plus a short bus into town, but it's not fast or direct.

What to book ahead: If you're coming for the festival, book a hotel outside the walls early. Rooms near the action fill up.

What to buy: A piece of hand-carved alabaster from one of the workshops in town. It's the local craft, and it's been made here for over two thousand years.

Worth knowing: The Volterra Card (about €23, valid 72 hours) covers entry to the Pinacoteca, the Ecomuseo dell'Alabastro, Palazzo dei Priori, the Etruscan Acropolis, the Roman Cistern, the Roman Theater, and the Guarnacci Museum. If you're planning to see three or more of those, it pays for itself.

Pair it with: San Gimignano is close by if you want to turn this into a two-town day.

Planning More Tuscany Travel

We'll be adding more from our time in Tuscany soon, including guides to San Gimignano and the rest of the hill towns we keep coming back to. In the meantime, check out our Tuscany Travel Guide for everything we've covered in the region so far.