Art and minerals, crafts and nature

Discover every detail on the manufacturing and nature of alabaster

A mineral, alabaster, and a city, Volterra. Closely tied together, the people and the environment have brought to life this precious mineral, which represents a key element of life in this strip of Tuscany.
The ecomuseum tells this story and displays its sculptures explaining how one goes from the extraction of the raw material to these delicate artefacts, and how they’ve been at the center of a thriving business.

The museum brings the visitors back in time, following the history of this precious rock and of Volterra’s community. Extraction, processing, trading, from the Etruscans to the present day, all set up and explained in the Minucci medieval tower.

Discover the past of our area, from the Etruscans’ period up to today, through the different stages of alabaster-manufacturing at the Ecomuseum of Alabaster.

A long history of a precious game of light

From the Etruscans to the present day

The Ecomuseum of Alabaster is an environmental museum exploring the center of the production and trade of alabaster, which is Volterra, and its old tradition in this sector.

The documentation center set up in the medieval tower Minucci is a unique “Museum of Commercial Archeology” that explores the time between the Etruscans today. It goes through the processes of sourcing the rock, its quality, the styles and models used by the sculptors, its trade and the travelers who, especially in the 19th century, spread the knowledge on alabaster in the world, producing a big economic turnout for the city and its hinterland.

Volterra is home to a huge heritage in alabaster sculptures, and the Ecomuseum represents a connecting point within the alabaster-route that includes other hubs such as the Guarnacci Museum, full of information and knowledge on the Etruscan period, and Palazzo Viti, a historical home that offers an extraordinary insight into the city’s past with alabaster.

The Minucci tower is set up in a diachronic way, which means it follows the progress of time, starting in the Etruscans’ time and arriving to today.