Volterra sits almost 2,000 feet above the western hills of Tuscany. The trip up to the top of the mountain is breathtaking and it raises your excitement as you go up up up.

 

The high mountain-top location was discovered by pre-historic dwellers before the Etruscans as a perfect, safe place for a community. The Etruscans made it one of their most important cities, it was later conquered by the Romans, and was revived as a medieval commune and later a Florentine-dominated city of the Renaissance. And now in the twenty-first century it is one of the most popular tourist visits even though it is a far trip off of the main north-south route from Florence to Rome. There is no fast way to get there. You must wind your way through some of the most beautiful countryside of Tuscany. So the trip is total pleasure but you must be ready for various surprises and some delays. Here is one:

That’s right: A Sheep Crossing. We were zipping down the road and slammed on our brakes along with the other cars and wondered what is going on and then there they were, happily baa baaing across the road. Notice they used the CROSS WALK!!!! Dont you love it? They are crossing in the cross walk with lighting for I assume Volterra farmers out for a walk late at night who need lights to cross the country road. But whatever, they were happy sheep off to make their Pecorino cheese that you cannot even imagine until you taste it freshly made here in Tuscany. And here they were just merrily off across the meadows as happy as a little sheep can be with a set of beautiful Tuscan sheep herder dogs helping guide them along. Pyrenees Mountain Dogs. White. Gorgeous. Almost as big as their sheep charges. That’s him in the foreground of my photo. You know, I was so transfixed by this vision that I sat there watching and not thinking and all along my sister is yelling: “Get a photo; Get a photo!!!!!!!”…….almost lost my chance.

The countryside here in this part of Tuscany is magnificent. Rolling hills, vineyards, olive orchards, grain, flowers, farm houses. It is like some Piero della Francesca landscape. It is softer than the rougher Chianti country. And the beauty of the countryside I would say, is one of the best reasons to make the trip to Volterra. But to enjoy it you have to rent a car. It just isnt as much fun on a bus. But you can do it on a public bus transportation.

And the trip can include some other charming stops that are there to enjoy along the way. One of my favorite places is Monteriggioni. This tiny town is one of few medieval towns of Tuscany to have preserved all its original walls.

So when you go into the gate of Monteriggioni, you find yourself inside a completely enclosed charming little town with a beautiful church and a wonderful restaurant: Il Pozzo.

And now let us go back to Volterra to the central piazza of the town.

And here we are in the very center of Volterra in front of the central palace of government. The building has a nice little museum with the best part of it the option to climb to the top of the tower you see. When you get up there, there is one of the greatest views of all of western Tuscany because you are already at the top of a high mountain and then you climb to the top of the tower at the top of the palace at the top of the town. The tower is not very big or thick so when you get up there you really can feel the power. I don’t dare show you my photos for fear you will all get vertigo! They have a very thorough warning posted for all to read before you climb the stairs. And it lists all the diseases and problems that you should check first before climbing the stairs. Am surprised they do not have a doctor standing by to do an examination on each prospective hiker. One warning is: ha, I love this: “fear of heights!”….isn’t that great. As if you have to be warned. Narrow stairs and scary high places. Want to go?

Volterra is a fantastic small city. They have closed most of the historic center to all cars and motor scooters. So many streets like this one are quiet and full of shoppers walking slowly and children playing and people pausing at cafes. It reminds me of Venice in the best way; quiet piazzas with no cars and with only the sound of people’s voices laughing and enjoying the quiet lovely city. Now don’t get me wrong; it is full of tourists too at certain hours and certain times. But in late September it was paradise. Just perfect. Busy. Yes. But a nice kind of busy. Fabulous shops. Wonderful restaurants. Come hear more on Jan 3 and Jan 4, 2015.