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VOLTERRA (anc. Volaterrae)

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Originally appearing in Volume V28, Page 206 of the 1911 Encyclopedia Britannica.
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VOLTERRA (anc. Volaterrae) , a See also:town and episcopal see of See also:Tuscany, See also:Italy, in the See also:province of See also:Pisa, from which it is 51 M. by See also:rail S.E., and 35 by road W.N.W. from See also:Siena. Pop. (1901) 5522 (town); 14,207 (See also:commune). It stands on a commanding See also:olive-clad See also:eminence 1785 ft. above See also:sea-level, with a magnificent view over mountains and sea (the latter some 20 M. distant), and is surrounded by the massive remains of its See also:ancient walls of large, roughly-rectangular blocks of See also:stone, some 4z m. in See also:circuit, enclosing an See also:area which must have been larger than was actually needed for habitation. Tombs of the pre-See also:Etruscan or See also:Villanova See also:period have been found within its circuit, but only at the See also:north-See also:west extremity near S. Giusto. Here the See also:clay of which the See also:hill is formed is gradually giving way, causing landslips and the collapse of buildings, notably of the See also:abbey See also:church of S. Salvatore (1030). The See also:medieval town occupies only the See also:southern portion of this area. The most important relic of its Etruscan period is the Ponta dell' Arco, an archway of dark greystone, about 20 ft. high, the corbels of which are adorned with almost obliterated heads, probably representing the See also:guardian deities of the See also:city. There are remains of See also:baths and a cistern of See also:Roman date.

Volterra preserves its medieval See also:

character, having suffered little modification since the 16th See also:century. The town contains many picturesque medieval towers and houses. The Palazzo dei Priori (1208–54), now the municipal See also:palace, is especially See also:fine, and the piazza in which it stands most picturesque. The museum contains a very valuable collection of Etruscan antiquities, especially cinerary urns from the ancient tombs N. and E. of the town. The urns themselves are of See also:alabaster, with the figure of the deceased on the lid, and reliefs from See also:Greek myths on the front. They belong to the 3rd–2nd centuries B.C. A See also:tomb outside the town of the 6th century B.C., discovered in 1898, consisted of a See also:round underground chamber, roofed with gradually projecting slabs of stone. The goof was supported in the centre by a massive square See also:pillar (E. Petersen in Romische Mitteilungen, 1898, 409; cf. id. ibid., 1904, 244 for a similar one near See also:Florence). There are also in the museum Romanesque sculptures from the old church of S. Giusto, &c. The See also:cathedral, consecrated in 1120 (?), but enlarged and adorned by Niccolo See also:Pisano (?) in 1254, has a fine See also:pulpit of that period, and on the high See also:altar are sculptures by Mino da See also:Fiesole; it contains several See also:good pictures—the best is an " See also:Annunciation " by Luca See also:Signorelli.

The See also:

sacristy has fine carvings. The See also:baptistery belongs to the 13th century; the See also:font is by See also:Andrea See also:Sansovino, and the See also:ciborium by Mino da Fiesole. Both these buildings are in See also:black and See also:white See also:marble. S. See also:Francesco has frescoes of 1410, and S. See also:Girolamo terra-cottas and pictures. The citadel, now a See also:house of correction, consists of two portions, the Rocca Vecchia, built in 1343 by See also:Walter de Brienne, See also:duke of See also:Athens, and the Rocca Nuova, built by the Florentines (1472). The inhabitants are chiefly employed in the manufacture of vases and other ornaments from alabaster, of good quality, found in the vicinity. There are also in the neighbourhood See also:rock-See also:salt See also:works and mines, as well as boracic See also:acid works. This acid is exhaled in volcanic See also:gas, which is passed through See also:water tanks. The acid is deposited in the water and afterwards evaporated. It is sent to See also:England, and used largely in the manufacture of pottery glaze.

Volaterrae (Etruscan Velathri) was one of the most powerful of the twelve confederate cities of See also:

Etruria. During the See also:war between See also:Marius and See also:Sulla it withstood the latter's troops for two years in 82–8o B.C. As a result of its resistance Sulla carried a See also:law for the See also:confiscation of the See also:land of those inhabitants of Volaterrae who had had the privileges of Roman citizenship. This, however, does not seem to have been carried out until See also:Caesar as See also:dictator divided some of the territory of Volaterrae among his veterans. Among its See also:noble families the See also:chief was that of the Caecinae, who took their name from the See also:river which runs See also:close to Volaterrae and still retains the name Cecina. See also:Cicero defended one of its members in an extant speech. It is included by See also:Pliny among the municipal towns of Etruria. In the 12th and 13th centuries it enjoyed See also:free institutions; in 1361 it See also:fell under the See also:power of Florence. It rebelled, but was retaken and pillaged in 1472. See also:Persius the satirist and the painter Daniele da Volterra were both natives of the town. Several works of the latter are preserved there. See C.

See also:

Ricci, Volterra (See also:Bergamo, 1905); E. Bormann in Corp. Inscr. Latin. xi. (See also:Berlin, 1888), p. 324; G. See also:Dennis, Cities and Cemeteries of Etruria (See also:London, 1883), ii. 136. (T.

End of Article: VOLTERRA (anc. Volaterrae)

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