Day 4: Volterra
“Regardless of your journey, you can put a little pilgrim in your travels and find your own personal jubilation.”
― Rick Steves , Travel as a Political Act
The Heart of Tuscany
After the hubbub of Rome, we enjoyed the Tuscan countryside. We learned from Colleen about how each town came up with inventive ways to defend itself from other city-states because of the constant internecine warfare between feudal families. Attacking and being attacked is part of everyday life. We saw the hills of Carrara, where Michelangelo picked large slabs of marble stone for his sculpture. The town of Orvieto was perched on a large hill of limestone and found a way to get water into the village from deep wells in the limestone. During extended sieges, this was a must.
Pastoral Tuscany
We had a 5-hour bus ride. Most of us took naps on the bus after getting food on the go from the Auto-Grill. This a rest stop, which had a restaurant bridging the highway so that travelers from either direction could eat there. The quality of the food was fresh from local produce, meat, cheese, and wine. Boy, Italians know how to eat, even on the road. I miss it.
After narrow, twisty and steep roads, we reach the mountaintop town of Volterra.
A History of Siege
In the feudal economic and political system of Tuscany, hills were strategic for the constant battles that were part of life every day. Annie, our local tour guide, asked us to imagine living daily with the fear of an attack. Like the weather, the situation could change quickly.
Vignettes of Volterran history
The dueling bell towers
Annie, an American, who immediately fell in love with Italian culture in her youth, became smitten with a Volterran. Now she and her hubby Francesco are raising a family in Volterra. Her love of the culture and history of Volterra is evident in the stories she tells from Volterra’s past.
La Piazza dei Priori: the central square
Italy’s history is rife with the feuding machinations of its landed nobility. The bloody competition between the Pazzi family, an old waning Florentine family, and the upstart, ascendant Medicis, came to a series of events that led to the cruel killing and sacking by the Medici in 1472. Niccolo Machiavelli based his book, “The Prince,” on the Medicis.
Alum deposits were crucial to the dyeing of textiles, which provided vast wealth to its owners, the Pazzis. Under threat by a takeover by the greedy and power-hungry Medici, the Pazzis threw an emissary of the Medicis out of the palazzo’s window. The fall was quickly curtailed by a noose tied to the Medici’s neck. The yoyo bounce of the poor Medici’s neck must have been especially gruesome. Lord, have mercy!
Il Teatro Romano: the Roman Theater
This complex of buildings dates to the1st century B.C., which marked official Roman rule. New archaeological evidence suggests that many of the technological and architectural innovations we owe to the Romans are of Etruscan origin. The Etruscans were wide-ranging traders and, perhaps, bestowed to the Romans more technologies than we know.
We are crazy Americans!
In the modern Italian language, “pazzi” is now synonymous with “crazy” because of their disastrous conflict with the power-hungry Medicis, who would become kings and queens. Eva, Bob and I, were surprised that our comment to a Roman bartender linked to the Pazzis because of the alternate meaning of pazzi (crazy) today.
La Porta dell’Arco: the Etruscan Gate
It was the end of World War II. Just as the Volterrans started to feel the relief of peace, the malicious Nazis decided to destroy everything in their cowardly wake. Annie, our excellent local tour guide, vividly told the story of how Volterrans of all ages protected the city. They barricaded the Etruscan gate with large ancient paving stones. This was but another chapter in Volterra’s history of battles. Steep zigzagging roads are strategically hard to control by attackers from below, especially when a ring of high walls encircle the town.
Color-matched hand towels and hydrangeas accessorize this picturesque view of country life.
The Alabaster Workshop
White and shaded, grained, and translucent, alabaster allows light to pass through it.
Artisan
The proud alabaster artisan happily shares his craft.
Translucent
Alabaster is a soft stone that is made of fine-grained sedimentary gypsum. Your sheetrock walls are made of gypsum.
The Three Graces has been a continuing theme in the history of art. It is depicted here with sensitivity. Alabaster imitates the translucency of skin, which results in a sculpture of expressive intimacy.
This piece by me, “The Three Graces” is an interpretation of the same theme in a different material and a contemporary style.
The Guarnacci Etruscan Museum
The Etruscans were the Romans' precursors; it isn’t known how these two cultures are related, but the Etruscan’s enduring legacy is evident even today in places like Volterra. These intricately carved funerary vessels are widespread throughout the region.
Saluti: Wine Tasting with Francesco
Annie, our local tour guide, introduced us to Francesco, her Volterran husband, who is a viticulture writer, a member of the official wine council, and the local sommelier. He charismatically told us the basics of wine enjoyment and the story of the rich tradition of world-famous Tuscan vintages.
Terroir, the spirit of place
Wine is about the local geography, the weather, and the soil that gives the wine its life. An old wood wine press drives home the fact that wine was central to everyday Tuscan life for thousands of years. Francesco is proud to carry on this art form.
You are the center of wine culture.
Francesco's main lesson was to enjoy wine on our own terms merely and not be intimidated. There is always something more to learn and appreciate but, it’s all about the enjoyment, silly!
Techniques of Enjoyment
We used all our senses to enjoy the grape. We looked for variations in color and the way it catches the light. We smelled for hints of everything from fruits and flowers to minerals and earth. Wine has different effects on parts of the tongue and areas of the mouth and throat. Francesco led us through the cured meats and cheeses and how this melded with the wine. All this can be overwhelming, so he kept reminding us that wine is always about your experience. By the way, my current architectural project is a winery/vineyard in North Carolina.
Red truck guzzler
We chanced upon this little red truck, which is much smaller than my 1989 Dodge Ram, which can pull out tree roots. I only use my vehicle for local commuting. Europeans are way ahead of us in carbon footprint eco-sensibilities.
Authentic Volterra
Travelers yearn for the “authentic experience"— an experience of people, cuisine, art, and architecture far removed from their daily lives. Volterra has adapted to an economy based on tourist culture and yet maintains a vibrant local population. Grandmas still sit in piazzas gossiping and watching people walk by; more animated young people do the same thing. Happy dogs pull their owners along with and then abruptly stop and sniff like they do all over the world. Everything is different and yet familiar. We look on this with admiration and perhaps a little yearning. This is the Rick Steves travel experience.