Do not walk away from the museum just yet.

Directly opposite the museum, you will find Casa Minzoni. What is the house number?

 

This is the second number to remember.

 

Follow the road further towards the city center.

 

Soon you will pass the library of Volterra, which shares its name with the Etruscan Museum. How many of its windows are secured with iron bars?

This is the third number to remember.

 

After about 100 meters from the Etruscan Museum, you will reach a small but charming square. Turn left here and walk up the stairs.

 

At the top of the stairs, turn right. Follow this narrow alley and after about 150 meters you will find the entrance to the archaeological park Parco Archeologico Enrico Fiumi on your left.

 

Enter the park and follow the path straight ahead for about 100 meters. At the public water fountain, turn right and continue along this path for several dozen meters until you reach the fence.

 

At the fence, you will see part of the Acropoli Etrusca on your left. On the right, there are spiral staircases leading underground to the Cisterna Romana.

 

As you walk through the park, look around for a moment. From here, you have a clear view of the tower of the Fortezza Medicea, the place where I am held.

 

Along the way, you will pass my favorite place for an aperitivo, Cafè Etruria, opposite the entrance to the park.

 

If you wish, pause for a moment. Even the city allows time to breathe.

 

 

If you need guidance, the city marks the way at:
43°24'03.1"N, 10°51'39.1"E

 

If you need help finding this location,
you can view it on Google Maps.

The Parco Archeologico Enrico Fiumi lies on one of the highest points of Volterra and forms part of the ancient heart of the Etruscan city of Velathri.

 

At its center is the Acropoli Etrusca, an area that was already in use as early as the 7th century BCE. Here, the Etruscans built sacred and civic structures at the very top of the city, a place of religious and political importance.

 

Within the park, you can find remains of Roman cisterns (cisterna romana), large underground water reservoirs dating from around the 1st century BCE. These cisterns collected rainwater and supplied the city during dry periods, showing how Roman infrastructure was added to earlier Etruscan sites.

 

From the park, there is also a clear view of the Fortezza Medicea, whose tower dominates the skyline. The fortress was constructed in the 15th century and still occupies this strategic high point overlooking the city.

 

Together, these remains show how the same location has been used continuously for more than 2,500 years, by different cultures building upon what came before.