Volterra’s Museums
Volterra is home to a number of interesting museums of historical and artistic value.
Built at the end of the 15th century, the Palazzo Minucci-Solaini is situated in the centre of Volterra and attributed to Antonio Sangallo the Elder. Now the Art Gallery and Civic Museum it houses an important collection of paintings from local monasteries, churches, the cathedral, the Saint Linus conservatory in San Pietro, Spedali Riuniti and medieval and contemporary works of art, property of the Guarnacci Museum. Founded in 1905, the first Art Gallery was located on the second floor of the Palazzo dei Priori then, in 1982, the collection was transferred to the Palazzo Minucci-Solaini.
The gallery has a large group of artworks amongst which the splendid Annunciation by Luca Signorelli. Perhaps the most famous work is the wood panel of the Deposition by Rosso Fiorentino,a Mannerist masterpiece dated 1521 and regarded as a masterpiece of this Tuscan painter. Before leaving the building it is worth visiting the top floor gallery offering a panoramic view of the Roman theatre and the surrounding countryside.
The Guarnacci Etruscan Museum is one of the oldest public museums in Europe. It was founded in 1761 when the noble abbot Mario Guarnacci (Volterra 1701-1785), a collector of antiquities, donated his archeological collection to “the citizens of the city of Volterra”. The donation included a rich library of more than 50.000 volumes and is one of the most comprehensive collections of Etruscan remains and artefacts in Italy, amongst which are the famous bronze statue of a young boy ‘Ombra della Sera’ (shadow of the Evening), so called for its unusual elongated form and the Lorenzini Head, portraying a deity.
The visit of the museum begins on the ground floor with the early Iron Age IX-VIII centuries B.C. (room I and I bis), the orientalizing and archaic periods (room II) and then the classic period (room III). The visit continues on the second floor with reconstructions of tombs and burial furnishings of the Hellenistic Period ( IV -I century B.C.). The main feature of the collection is the cinerary urn typical of Volterra and its territory. In fact the rite of cremation was almost exclusive to this area with ashes ceremoniously placed in an urn, similar to a small sarcophagus.
Founded in 1932, the Museum of Sacred Art is housed in part of an old vicarage, now a Bishop’s Palace, and displays works of art from the cathedral and the churches of the diocese. Of particular interest are the bust of San Lino by Andrea della Robbia, bust of Sant’Ottaviano in embossed silver and gilded copper by Antonio del Pollaiolo and the pala from Villamagna painted by Rosso Fiorentino in 1521, the same year as the celebrated Deposition housed in the Art Gallery.
Palazzo Viti, once the home of Giuseppe Viti of Volterra, a wealthy alabaster entrepreneur, has twelve rooms that are open to the public and are beautifully furnished with furniture, porcelains, alabaster collections and other valuable items representing Italian, European and Oriental art dating from the 15th to the 20th centuries. Many of the works are of mixed origin. The Bali temple in balsawood, the Chinese, ivory junk, the Japanese portable writing desk in mother of pearl and the beautiful, and rare engraved, porcelain lampshade from Berlin. The Palazzo Viti in Volterra is one of the most beautiful private residences of Italy. The palace was visited by kings and princes, and film directors such as Luchino Visconti who used the palace as a film set.
The Alabaster Ecomuseum is housed in the Minucci medieval tower and documents the history of the alabaster craft from the Etruscans to present day, illustrating the finding and extraction of the stone, the techniques for working and decorating the stone, the commercialization and dissemination of the craft, the life of an alabaster craftsman and activities in the workshop. The most important exhibits are two alabaster cinerarias from the Etruscan era, a collection of remarkable sculptures from the 18th and 19th centuries, a selection of alabaster medallions by Albino Funaioli and some works by a local artist called Raffaello Consortini.
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