VOLTERRA 
 
Though visiting the centre it seems a nice medieval town with its medieval palaces, churches and squares, Volterra is much more ancient. As many of our villages around Tuscany (such as Siena itself, Colle and Monteriggioni) Volterra had been founded by the Etruschi. They were a very ancient, mysterious people, living in Tuscany since much earlier than Jesus Christ's birth. It is unknown where they came from, but we know they were excellent artisans, builders and artists. But they weren't good enough to control. To do this the Romans came. So the Romans occupied easily their territories, destroyed their towns and all the memories about their ways to live: in one word they took their place. In Volterra you can see the three heads' arch within the walls of the medieval town. The medieval town was much smaller than the Etruscan one, which was the biggest town in Tuscany in those times and it was called Velathri. They say that the arch too is an invention of this people. In those times must have been a great new!! In Volterra there is a traditional manufacture of golden and alabaster goods, which takes its origins from the Etruschi. The alabaster is a material found in these geological areas and it seems a kind of hard and transparent plaster used since the Etruschi times until nowadays to made nice things to keep