The villa and the “borgo” of Pignano with two separate old centers The ancient Pignano Castle has a long history, and there have been many disputes over it over the years between Volterra and San Gimignano because of its location. It first was built as a...
The Scornello Villa A noble residence with its own chapel and farm The Scornello Villa is located on the top of a hill about 10 km from Volterra at a height of 285 meters, and it’s surrounded by a big park that one can access through an avenue of cypresses. Scornello...
The Amongst the most interesting villas of the area It was built between 1608 and 1615 by the order of Admiral Iacopo Inghirami on the remains of an older castle, the Ulignano Castle. This castle was a part of the municipality of Volterra, and its role was to protect...
The “borgo” of Villamagna A strategic castle-”borgo” dating back to the 8th century Villamagna is located in the North-West of the municipality of Volterra, over the Capriggine stream, which flows into the Era river at Molino d’Era. Villamagna was first mentioned in...
The “borgo” of Sensano Small and surrounded by cypresses An old parish church from the 12th century is located in the rural “borgo” of Sensano. It follows a Romanesque style and is dedicated to Saints Ippolito and Cassiano. From here, one has a stunning view over the...
The “borgo” of San Cipriano of medieval origin San Cipriano is located a bit north from, along the provincial road “pisana”, between Montebradoni and Molino d’Era. The “borgo” was built in the Middle Ages around a small hospital called Verano in San Cipriano, and it...
The “borgo” of Roncolla location of the television drama “Portrait of a Veiled Woman” Driving on the regional road (Strada Regionale) 68 from Volterra to San Gimignano, one’ll find the small and quaint “borgo” of Roncolla. Its current name might derive...
Montemiccioli A small castle Montemiccioli is a small castle, originally called “Castel del Popolo” (“Castle of the People”), built on the border between the municipality of Volterra and the municipality of San Gimignano. Back in the Middle Ages, the castle had many...
Mazzolla A fortified “borgo” The “borgo” of Mazzolla is located not far away from. Since the Middle Ages, it’s also been known with the name Paterno, and its first mention dates back to 1080, although we don’t know if it was a proper castle back then. There are no...
Palazzo Maffei A beautiful and prestigious building Palazzo Maffei, located towards the end of Via Matteotti, immediately catches the visitors’ eyes. It was built in the 1500s under Mario Maffei, a humanist originally from Volterra, secretary of Pope Eugene IV and...
Palazzo Guidi Beautiful but not easy to spot Right next to the tower-house Guidi is a “palazzo” with the same name and a beautiful facade. The noble building was bought by Iacopo Guidi in 1565 for 2000 golden “scudi”. The whole structure stretches along numbers 4 to...
The fountain “Fonte” of Docciola right in front of the gate with the same name One can access the “fonte” through a stairway of 251 steps built in 1933 that the locals still call “via delle scalette di Docciola” (“small steps of Docciola street” or, for those arriving...
