The hilltop town of Volterra, southeast of Pisa. Resource: The get an excellent perspective of Volterra and the region, contact TuscanTour and arrange a private tour with an English-speaking guide. More information

Volterra is often called the best little hilltown in all of Tuscany. If you consider the classic beauty and flavor of the others, this is quite a compliment.

Located in the center of a geographic triangle created by the cities of Pisa, Siena and Florence, Volterra is similar to other walled towns.

“They’re a bit more resistant to the invasion of mass tourism,” says local tour guide Annie Adair. “But there’s a feeling to Volterra that’s almost tangible. It’s slightly more noble. Culture here is perhaps a little more elevated after witnessing and shaping so much history."

Nearly every corner of Tuscany is rich in history. Even so, Volterra’s credentials are impressive. It dates back 3,500 years with the Villanovians first inhabiting the area before giving way to the Etruscans and the Romans. The city remained a city of importance until the late Renaissance when Florence and the Medici family exercised its dominance throughout the region.

Today, the 7,000 residents inside Volterra’s city walls maintain what Annie Adair calls “laidback attitude.” Here’s a place where you can enjoy small-town life and still be steeped in history.

In addition to good people and small-town charm, Volterra features:

• One of the world's best Etruscan museums
• The largest Medici fortress ever built
• The first Palazzo Comunale, or town hall, built in Italy
• Rosso Fiorentino's Mannerist painting Descent from the Cross
• Volterra is surrounded by rolling hills, grain fields and woodlands
• On clear days you can easily see the sea, with the islands of Elba and Corsica on the horizon.
• The Tyhrennian sea is about 24 miles to the west of Volterra and by car it takes only about 45 minutes to get to great public beaches with dunes and pine groves.