We're camping at the center of Etruscan civilization

The local GIANT beetles
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So here we are in Volterra, Italy, in the heart of Tuscany.  We were very fortunate to happen upon a quaint medieval town atop a large hill overlooking the Tuscan countryside.  Thank you Italians for your love of “camping” – we found a campsite with an amazing view (some part of which is called le Balze), sit-down toilets, a pool, and an English-speaking Italian desk person.  About a 5 minute walk brings us to a grocery store with more than just ingredients and perishables.  Hiking uphill for 5 more minutes, we arrive at the Medieval walls that surround the original city of Volterra.

They're HUGE!
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The town seems to be made up of stores catered toward visitors: restaurants, souvenir shops, crafty stores, and gelaterias.  We visited a Alabaster artisan who, along with his wife, hand carve sculptures, chess sets, lamps, and other weird and slightly tacky items.  All in Italian with gestures and pointing, he explained to us that each one of his chess pieces takes an hour, while the souvenir shops down the street use machines that take around a minute.  And THAT is why he charges so much.

Thank you Italians for your love of “camping”

Our new Deluxe camp grounds
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Dogs are welcome just about everywhere, and we’ve only seen a few cats running around.  Many of the cobblestones that make up the streets have fossils in them.  Perhaps the highlight of our visit so far has been an internet café called Web&Wine, where the glass floor reveals ancient Etruscan, Roman, and medieval ruins that were uncovered during the building’s renovation.

The gelato is magnificent, a great relief after the disappointment of the so-called gelato in the Cinque Terre.  The traditional cuisine mirror’s its origins: hare, wild boar, truffles, beans, olive oil, and cured meats.  We haven’t tried much so far, but the ricotta stuffed spinach tortellini in a butter and herb sauce was delightful.

A toilet with a seat! and a shelf and more! It doesn't even have a pull cord flush - we're moving up in the world.
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Here’s a little bit we’ve learned about Volterra:

Volterra is situated in the province of Pisa and lies between the valley of Era and Cecina.  Built on a hilly Pliocene ridge 545 meters above sea level and surrounded by two defensive walls, one Etruscan and the other Medieval, it is one of the most important centers of Tuscany.  It is important for its monuments which testify 3,000 years of civilization and for its traditional craftsmanship in Tuscan Alabaster, whose products are one of Italy’s leading crafts.

The view form our campsite
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The settlements in Volterra date back to the Neolithic period and excavations reveal the presence of the Villanovan culture from which the Etruscan civilization flourished in the 8th century B.C. and was later taken by the Romans, becoming an important Municipium.  At the rise of Christianity, Volterra was soon to follow the new faith and at the fall of the Roman Empire in 476 A.D. it was already the center of a vast diocese.

After the Barbaric domination and the Bishop’s rule, the free “commune” was affirmed and from the first half of the 12th century, Volterra began to formulate its own legislative laws.  But this autonomy was not to last for long: freed from the rule of the Bishop Counts and the Belforti family (1361), Volterra then had to fight against the hegemonic politics of Florence.  Volterra’s shrewd endurance, compromise, and apparent friendship served to postpone the ultimate defeat, which came about in 1472 over the issue of the alum quarries within the Volterran territory.

Fossils in the street cobblestones
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One of Volterra’s last historical events, the revolt against the Florentine Republic, took place in 1530.  On the side of the Medici, Volterra was defended and conquered by Francesco Ferrucci, and from then on followed the destiny of the Duchy of Florence and the Grandduchy of Tuscany.

Volterra has not yet been touched by the frenetic pace of contemporary life.  Visitors who come to Volterra have the immediate impression of stepping into the past, with its narrow medieval streets and the enigma of its Etruscan origins.