Cattedrale di Santa Maria Assunta

Volterra

LoginSave

A handsome coffered ceiling is the standout feature of Volterra's duomo, which was built in the 12th and 13th centuries and remodelled in the 16th. The Chapel of Our Lady of Sorrows, to the left as you enter from Piazza San Giovanni, has two sculptures by Andrea della Robbia and a small fresco of the Procession of the Magi by Benozzo Gozzoli. The duomo was closed for restoration work when we last visited but was due to reopen in late 2019.

In front of the duomo is a 13th-century baptistry featuring a Sansovino font (1502).

Lonely Planet's must-see attractions

  • Siena Cathedral (Duomo di Siena) is a medieval church, now dedicated to the Assumption of Mary, completed between 1215 and 1263, Siena, Italy; Shutterstock ID 1027666891; Your name (First / Last): Anna Tyler; GL account no.: 65050; Netsuite department name: Online Editorial; Full Product or Project name including edition: destination-image-southern-europe

    Duomo

    24.39 MILES

    Consecrated on the former site of a Roman temple in 1179 and constructed over the 13th and 14th centuries, Siena's majestic duomo (cathedral) showcases…

  • Piazza del Campo, Siena, Italy - stock photo Pictured is the Torre del Mangia and town hall building which also houses the Museo Civico

    Museo Civico

    24.53 MILES

    Entered via the Palazzo Pubblico's Cortile del Podestà (Courtyard of the Chief Magistrate), this wonderful museum showcases rooms richly frescoed by…

  • View Collegiate Church of Santa Maria Assunta in San Gimignano in the Duomo square. 16 June 2017 San Gimignano, Tuscany - Italy

    Collegiata

    10.33 MILES

    Parts of San Gimignano's Romanesque cathedral were built in the second half of the 11th century, but its remarkably vivid frescoes, depicting episodes…

  • Siena, Italy - 08 01 2017: View of Piccolomini Library inside Siena Cathedral; Shutterstock ID 1053389615; Your name (First / Last): Anna Tyler; GL account no.: 65050; Netsuite department name: Online Editorial; Full Product or Project name including edition: destination-image-southern-europe

    Libreria Piccolomini

    24.37 MILES

    Cardinal Francesco Todeschini Piccolomini, archbishop of Siena (later Pope Pius III), commissioned the building and decoration of this hall off the north…

  • Pinacoteca Nazionale

    Pinacoteca Nazionale

    24.5 MILES

    Siena's recently renovated art gallery, housed in 14th-century Palazzo Buonsignori since 1932, is home to an extraordinary collection of Gothic…

  • Siena, Tuscany, Italy. Piazza del Campo.

    Piazza del Campo

    24.5 MILES

    Popularly known as 'Il Campo', this sloping piazza has been Siena's social centre since being staked out by the ruling Consiglio dei Nove (Council of Nine…

  • Palazzo Comunale

    Palazzo Comunale

    10.33 MILES

    The 13th-century Palazzo Comunale has always been the centre of San Gimignano's local government; its magnificently frescoed Sala di Dante is where the…

View more attractions

Nearby Volterra attractions

1. Baptistry

0.03 MILES

Just west of the cathedral is the 13th-century baptistry with a small marble font (1502) by Andrea Sansovino.

2. Palazzo dei Priori

0.04 MILES

Volterra's 13th-century town hall is the oldest seat of local government in Tuscany. The staircase bears a fresco of the Crucifixion by Pier Francesco…

3. Palazzo Pretorio

0.06 MILES

Forming one side of Volterra's central square, the Palazzo Pretorio was the seat of the local mayor. From it sprouts one of the town's oldest towers, the…

4. Porta all'Arco

0.07 MILES

City gate built by the Etruscans in the 4th century BC.

5. Pinacoteca Comunale

0.08 MILES

Local, Sienese and Florentine art holds sway in this modest collection in the Palazzo Minucci Solaini. Taddeo di Bartolo's Madonna Enthroned with Child …

6. Ecomuseo dell'Alabastro

0.08 MILES

As befits a town that's hewn the precious material from nearby quarries since Etruscan times, Volterra is the proud possessor of an alabaster museum. It's…

7. Teatro Romano

0.15 MILES

The grassy ranks of seating and towering columns of Italy's finest and best-preserved Roman theatre makes this a particularly evocative archaeological…

8. Museo Diocesano d'Arte Sacra Volterra

0.24 MILES

Offering an innovative and particularly satisfying museum experience, this collection of sacred art is housed in the still-functioning Chiesa di San…