MORNING IN VOLTERRA; THEN LOST THE CAR!!

Relief after arriving in Siena! at Piazza dell Campo!!! 

This a.m. we were up and packed as we were meeting Annie (guide suggested by Rick Steves) as I had scheduled her to give us a 3 hour tour of Volterra. She was in front of the Etruscan Museum promptly at 10. Turns out she is an American from DC who's lived here for 18 years. She fell in love with the place, then fell in love with a local and the rest is history! They have a 4 and 8 or 9 year old who have dual citizenship.

We sat and had cappuccino while Annie gave us lots of background of the history of the place. They think the Etruscans were here for 3,000 years! Mainly they lived here up until around 7th century BC when Rome started to spread its wings. And they sailed around the Mediterranean. Their civilization was pretty highly developed, especially their jewelry making. They had an arch years before the Romans. The Romans perfected it.

When attacked, the road was zigzagged so a battering ram was hard. When they got inside the arch (after the first door) there was another door. While they were trying that one, Volterrians were on the top, dropping not oil (too wasteful!) but vats of caca(waste!) on them! During WWII the Germans occupied and, when someone was coming to free the town (Volterrians were hoping it wasn't the Algerians who had a reputation for systematic rape and pillage! Turns out it was the Americans! But the Germans decided to blow up this gate before they left!! The women and children spent all night digging up the paving stones and piling them in front of the arch! When the Germans came in the morning, they decided to leave it alone; it was already blocked! The wall was saved!

During Roman times at first the Etruscans and Romans got along. But then Rome started moving north and conquered. There was a theater built there and baths, discovered only in the '30s I think.

After the fall of Rome, Volterra became part of the Holy Roman Empire under Charlemagne around 800s AD. It had some autonomy and developed  prosperity because of its mineral resources - especially alum, which is used as a fixative for colors in textiles. Mining is still important in the area around here.

One of the HUGE events that affected the development of Volterra was in 1348 the "Black Death." This was not the bubonic plague but killed over 1/2 the citizens of surrounding towns. It was more like the 1918 flu epidemic. After this, people began to question the idea of "God" and how he could let this happen. The beginning of "humanism" which developed into the REnaissance period flourished.

Baptistry

Cathedral

Gilded ceiling

Carving on Pulpit showing Judas under the table with demon. 

Plaque commemorating partisans defending the Etruscan arch

One of the highlights of the tour was a visit to an alabaster carving studio. We watched the artisan take a block of stone (it's mined nearby) and shape it into a bowl (Cathy bought it). White dust flew everywhere! We had been fascinated by the covering for windows in various churches where the translucent alabaster let in soft light! Beautiful!

Not sure if this video clip will work.

Annie, our guide

The carver

Pile of either scraps or useful pieces, not sure. 

plaster model on left with points marked

Carved head of John Paul II for Rome for his beatification. Done from this photo. Other photo is finished piece. Big one is plaster model.

We finished up after our alabaster purchases and it was time to head out. UNFORTUNATELY, when Curio had gone with me to park the car outside the city walls and we walked back to the apartment, I didn't take good mental notes. The girls went to bring all the suitcases down to the street while I headed off in what I thought was the correct direction. I had a really bad map and went to 4 different places marked P but our car was nowhere. After an exhausting 1 hour up and down steep steps and roads, I came back to find a worried Angie! It's such a pain that we can't communicate by text or WhatsApp unless we are where there is wifi!

Curio came down and walked me back to the lot, unmarked on the map, and we met the girls and the luggage!! I was near to tears I was so exhausted!! We headed out and I finally calmed down and we had an uneventful trip of about an hour to Siena. We decided we have to stick together whatever we have to do so we don't lose each other!! I was finally relaxed sipping chianti on Il Campo, Europe's largest central piazza, where in July and August they have an amazing horse race competition!!