Alabaster in Volterra
All roads lead to Rome, but you should certainly stop in Volterra, and if you decide to stay, no one would be surprised. This town is close to a number of larger cities in Italy, and close enough to be connected to the latest and the greatest innovations, but also secluded enough that you can disappear for awhile and get into the flow of nature. It’s a pretty fantastic place, with a sensibility that is understated and really exquisite, inviting a sense of inspiration to anyone who comes to visit. There is also an amazing history to the place, and it’s had occupants for many centuries. There are many interesting people who have passed through Volterra. Hotels are superb here at offering guests a comfortable hospitality that goes well with the city in general.
While you’re here, you may start to notice that there is some beautiful statuary, and decide to take a tour of its art history. There are many treasures to find when tracing all the stories that make up Volterra, and it’s not hard to see the connection between alabaster and the Twilight series. Volterra, for those who are up on popular culture, of course plays a very significant part in this vampire sage, and no one can talk for long about vampires without mentioning alabaster skin. It’s a side effect from never seeing the sun. You’re likely to see both the sun and alabaster when you visit here, because it’s one of the main centers for it in the world.
This material is still very popular, and very useful, because it is one of the more variable materials, which can hold its shape but is soft enough to be scratched with a fingernail. It became popular in the Etruscan period for its usefulness in making funerary urns. Since that time, it’s found its way into many more art forms, and had a bit of a decline until the early part of the 20th century. Umberto Borgna is credited for being part of the trend toward reinvigorating its popularity as a sculptor’s material, and his famous designs are still very influential on the present generation of Italian sculptors.