Following a disastrous collapse at the start of 2014, Volterra’s Etruscan walls are now standing stronger than ever.
On the evening of January 31, as the town was hit with torrential rains and flooding, a 30-meter stretch of wall crumbled when the road beneath it collapsed. Affected areas included a portion of via Lungo le Mura and a section of the wall facing piazza Martiri della Libertà.
In the immediate aftermath, measures were taken to ensure residents’ safety. In time, restoration began due to four million euro contributed by the Tuscan Region and the Italian ministry of cultural heritage.
The results of the restoration have become evident over the past two months. Roads were reopened to pedestrians in late September and to traffic on October 18, with regional president Enrico Rossi participating in a ceremony to mark the occasion.
The walls have now been rebuilt: fast progress considering the painstaking process of gathering archaeological remains and cataloguing them. In addition, project supervisors took care to ensure that the mortar and other materials used in the operation would keep the walls as structurally sound as possible.
Commenting on the Region’s three million euro investment, Rossi said that it was an easy decision: ‘It was our duty. Volterra is a splendid city in the heart of Tuscany; it is an important piece of cultural heritage.’
