Volterra

Velathri, as the city was called when it was founded by the Etruscans in the seventh century BC, had a wall perimeter of over seven kilometers, suggesting to scholars that in addition to the city, there were also cultivated land inside. Over the years the city acquired a great deal of importance so as to become one of the twelve lucomonias of the Etruscan nation.

The economic aspect of this area has changed over the years, in fact once the only source of trade was the extraction of copper, alum, alabaster and salt, which were then subsequently processed in the factories of Volterra.

Today some of these activities remain as tradition, for example the small artisan companies that work alabaster, but there are also many innovations, so the first metalworking and chemical industries. Even today, one of the country’s main sources of income is certainly tourism.