The heritage of the private and public museums within the Municipality of Volterra is immense. Among the collections are many artistic, archaeological, naturalistic, and ethnographic artefacts from the Etruscan and Roman civilizations to the contemporary era.
ART GALLERY AND CIVIC MUSEUM
There Art Gallery and Civic Museum they illustrate the medieval history of our territory. Room by room, they are discovered preserved wooden statues, ceramics, rich collections of medals, large assortments of coins and many paintings. The museum is spread over two floors and offers a clear picture of how original our community has been. The Art Gallery and the Civic Museum From time to time they also organize contemporary temporary exhibitions and displays, sometimes in collaboration with other organizations and institutions, with a particular focus on the city's cultural heritage. This fascinating place is located in Piazza Minucci.
PALACE OF THE PRIORS
Palace of the Priors, living monument of the medieval municipal reality, offers the public an independent tour among the halls of power. The tour includes the Council Chamber and the Executive Chamber on the first floor, and the attic rooms on the top floor, which provide access to the Bell Tower, which is accessible and offers a splendid view of the city and the surrounding valleys. The wonderful furnishings I am often the protagonists of this imposing building, but inside it they express themselves numerous temporary thematic exhibitions: a good excuse to dive into the pleasure of culture, in the mastery of historical and contemporary human ingenuity.
TORTURE MUSEUM
Next to the Church of Sant'Agostino lies the Museum of Torture. The object of the museum is clear from the name, but it is important to point out that It is only suitable for strong stomachs. An exhibition that continues to gain great public acclaim for its strong and clear historical value and that It includes torture instruments that are unique in the world. A museum that does not need to emphasize, through depictions of blood or horror scenes, his message: the tools speak for themselves. Torture is almost never talked about anymore today., The topic leaves us quite indifferent as we consider it so distant from our world, from our culture, but if you want to delve deeper, this is the right place.
VITI PALACE
After having wandered far and wide along Via Don Minzoni, attention focuses on Via Sarti. Here, making a fine show of themselves are the interiors and its nineteenth-century furnishings of Palazzo Viti. Palazzo Viti, a living emblem of contemporary history as well as one of the most beautiful residences in Italy, is expressed through a long path of infinite rooms; you come here with a bit of the same concept as when you go to Ikea: you evaluate the ornaments, you admire the paintings present everywhere, you photograph the books on display in the library, you observe the collection of fans, you analyse the alabaster artefacts and above all reflect on the noble lifestyle by Giuseppe Viti. In these rooms, open to the public, everything has remained as it was seen, over the centuries, by the Kings and Princes who were hosted here.