Volterra | Etruscan Acropolis and Cistern

The Acropolis was the highest part of the city and the most fortified place, where the most precious temples and the buildings that served the first organisation of the city were located.

Excavations in the Pian di Castello area (4th century B.C.) have brought to light a district dedicated to religious activities, with buildings for worship and service areas, such as warehouses and accommodation for the religious. To the Hellenistic period (2nd century B.C.), two cult buildings belong, conventionally called Temple A and Temple B, as well as a complex system of cisterns for collecting rainwater, including the Augustan Pool.

The archaeological finds show that the Etruscans were a monumental civilisation: the temples were a special creation, intended to achieve an immediate decorative effect. This is attested to by the location of the remains of archaic walls in the gardens of the present-day Albergo Etruria and in nearby houses. These are the remains of the first walled circle that covered the sides of the present-day Piano di Castello area.