Time for lunch, and some shopping in Volterra

 

Un pranzo buonissimo - Ristorante Del Duca

Monday                                                                                October 11, 2021

Sometimes, you go on instinct and take your chances.  We decided this place looked like a good choice for lunch - and we were so pleased with our meal, the ambiance and the service.  Stop there for a meal if you travel to Volterra.

Well spaced tables with crystal & linen, each decorated with a bronze Etruscan statue and an alabaster candleholder

Amuse bouche (or chef's surprise as they call it here) - tomato compote with egg foam and crispy spinach - yum!!

Michael seems very happy with his charcuterie plate of local meats and cheeses

Words fail - a light and tasty ricotta souffle dressed with truffle shavings

A great meal (more than pictured) calls for a relaxing digestivo - limoncello and Sambuca

Il Ristorante del Duca, is located in the Duke's palace - where else?

Right around the corner from our restaurant was this advertisement.  Maybe next visit!

Etruscan lid for a funerary urn made from alabaster

Volterra is well known for it's alabaster production and artistry.  This year, the Etruscan Guarnacci Musuem - the gem of the city, in my opinion - is closed for renovations.  Instead, they offered a combined city ticket to all municipal museums.  So we took a look at the alabaster museum.  Nice to see - took less than 10 minutes to see the 30 or so pieces on display (smile).  You can see more just looking around the shops that are selling some spectacular pieces.  We bought two candleholders to take home.

Alabaster carvings - life portraits, similar to cameos

I think I like this modern alabaster sculpture

Piazza San Giovanni:  the Cattedrale di Santa Maria Assunta on the left and the Battistero di San Giovanni on the right

The Campanile of the cathedral, and an old hospital on the left, now a museum

The Bapistry of St. John the Baptist, from the 12th century

Beautiful, but narrow, medieval doors

An even narrower door, on the side of the cathedral.

This one's not narrow, just Baroque and showy.

Michael, waiting for the school bus to pass

Hundreds of years and thousands of feet have worn these stones

I love these shops with local produce from the cities - we had sandwiches made for our dinner tonight.

So many great local products - we bought some spices and sampled the local honey

Bye Volterra, we had a great day.  The setting sun is shining on the Tyrrhenian Sea on the horizon.