There are eleven doors which, still today, they remain standing inserted in the perimeter of the medieval walls o outside of it. Once upon a time there were even more doors and, precisely, there were four more; Today we can no longer admire these, but we will talk about them at the end of the article.
If I were a filmmaker with a video camera, I'd make a documentary about these doors and call it: «"Symphony of the Volterran Gates"». Now they are wide open and they seem to have forgotten their grim appearance of when, once upon a time, they were slammed in the enemies' faces who wanted to take over the city. They have a particular charm and are different from each other both in terms of their structure and the surrounding buildings.
DOOR TO THE ARCH
I would start the documentary from Door to the Arch, the beautiful Etruscan gate inserted in the medieval walls.It is the most admired and visited gate by tourists from all over the world. It is without a doubt, the most famous because magazines, history books of all levels of study, and art history books have reproduced it on each of the five continents. The people of Volterra, in their long history, have perhaps shown that they truly love her only once.
DIANA'S GATE
Porta Diana came to a bad end. The oldest name of this beautiful gate is the Gate.The arch which leaned on one side against the mountain and on the other against a truncated pyramid tower, it collapsed. The gate was once part of the Etruscan walls, but now only a few boulders remain. Even though it lacks an arch, the ancestral landscape is very evocative.
SHOWER DOOR
There Docciola Gate it is the medieval gate that opens in the most fascinating scenario, Especially if you descend the long staircase towards the fountain, in a picturesque place, full of silence and mystery. The walls descend steeply from Porta Fiorentina towards the narrow valley and then rise steeply towards Porta Marcoli. At the apex of this sort of acute angle is Porta Docciola..
UPPER GATE OF SAN FELICE
Porta San Felice It bears the name of the Saint who, according to legend, accompanied St. Justus and St. Clement when they came to Volterra to spread Christianity. The gate has an arch which, on one side, rests on a sort of tower and on the other on an oratory dedicated to San Felice. The inscription found to the right of the door at the corner of the walls: AD MD. LXXIl. It commemorates certain repair works carried out by the Municipality.
LOWER GATE OF SAN FELICE
The second Gate of San Felice, the original one. Located in front of the springs of the same name, on the slope adjacent to the gate, it is possible to see the remains of Roman hydraulic works that constituted the first part of the supply pipeline to a thermal complex built just beyond the walls. This gate was later replaced by the Superior, present here almost adjacent
SAN FRANCESCO GATE
Porta San Francesco is the largest gate. It is beautiful in its simplicity, with its elegant arch and three rough battlements that surmount it. It was once also called Pisan Gate. Porta San Francesco and Porta Fiorentina are the only two entrances that They feature real working wooden doors, to be closed just in case.
MARCOLI GATE
Marcoli Gate it opens onto the road that leads towards the seminary towards the Sant'Andrea meadow. It's a tiny but delightful door. Perhaps it was opened to facilitate access to the city for Olivetan monks who settled near the Church of Sant'Andrea where they founded their monastery. Today the area is full of new but it is still suggestive and quite silent
MENSERI PORT
Porta Menseri is a small medieval door from which it comes it sweeps over the terrifying view of the Balze. It is located at the bend of the San Giusto hamlet towards the Guerruccia plain. We cannot provide any particular historical information, but it is characteristic for its wonderful photos that can be obtainedclimbing above its arch.
PORTA A SELCI
Also called Porta del Sole, built against the fortress, gives the impression of a fortress. The gate has undergone several alterations over the centuries. On the arch is a rectangular white stone carved with a cross and, below it, he dates it: 1594. It is a gate through which famous people entered the city.
MONTEBRADONI GATE
There Montebradoni Gate opens up in the belt of the Etruscan walls at the village of the same name.Very characteristic, it appears as an access that leads from the nature of the woods and the countryside below to the small town. Silence pervades this area and offers many evocative reflections on those who have benefited from this passage over the centuries.
FLORENTINE DOOR
We left the last one for last. Porta Fiorentina. It's a beautiful medieval gate. Today it is very popular both for the influx of visitors to the Bastione Public Park, both because it provides access to the Municipal Cemetery and towards the Roman area. Above the door is the Medici coat of arms.
Below are the doors that no longer exist:
BALDUCCIA DOOR
No trace remains of this very ancient gate. According to some local historians, it opened on the southern side, approximately where the so-called Ponti parapet is located. It may have been a small gate that provided an exit, certainly not onto the avenue, since it is recent, but rather toward the steep, wooded slope.
MANDRINGA GATE
Another lost gate is the Mandringa or Maldringa, or Gualdringa or Grimaldringa, located near the spring of the same name that still exists today. It opened into the Etruscan walls. In 1293, it was still standing, as evidenced by numerous documents. At one time, it was also called the Docciarello Gate, after a nearby farm.
SAN MARCO GATE
Even Porta San Marco is missing. It once stood near the Church of San Marco, a very ancient building, rich in works of art and home to Benedictine nuns, which was demolished in 1774. It was located on the Guerruccia plain near the Balze within the Etruscan walls. The gate also appears to have been called "Guerruccia" and then "San Marco" after the nearby church. Now everything has disappeared and absolute silence reigns over the esplanade.
GATE OF PENALTY
The last of the lost gates is the so-called Porta della Penera. Even today, there are traces of Etruscan constructions in this area. It was once part of these buildings, but in the Middle Ages, it was restored and preserved for a long period, then all trace of it was lost. A small villa of the same name, with an adjoining farm, remains nearby. This once belonged to the Zacchi family, who also hosted prominent figures there.