点评:The historic center of Volterra has a particularity, which also distinguishes it from the closest historic centres, those of Tuscany, and in particular from the family of Tuscan hill towns.
The peculiarity is the following: although it boasts a splendid medieval past, testified by its built form, the extension of the medieval city is much smaller than the one of the Etruscan era, when its name was Velathri and it dominated on a region starting from Val di Pesa, near Florence, and reaching the sea.
In fact, the walls of the Etruscan city, in the period of their maximum size (first half of the 3rd century BC) were 7 km long and enclosed an area of 116 hectares; while the walls of the still prosperous medieval city are 2.6 km long and include 26 hectares.
These data are reflected in the political history of Volterra, which, being so powerful, was the last of the cities of the Etruscan Confederation to recognize the Roman dominion (in 260 BC); and they are also reflected in the demography of the city, which is estimated to have reached up to 25,000 inhabitants in the Etruscan period, while during its heyday in the Middle Ages (early 14th century) it is estimated to have reached 12,000 (a figure however more than remarkable for the era).
Therefore a large space north of the current Voìterra was included in the Etruscan city, but not in the medieval one; nor is it included in the modern one, out of due respect for historical finds, which prevents construction towards the north. This case arouses comparison to me with the - even more macroscopic - case of Syracuse, Sicily, in the 5th century BC. and in subsequent eras.
A main economic resource for the medieval municipality was the exploitation of the rock salt present in the surrounding area. However, the presence of this resource would not have been decisive, if over time a mercantile class had not been formed in the city, attentive to seizing this opportunity to base the city's prosperity on it. Prosperity which in turn explains the nobility and power of many urban buildings, both private (the tower houses of which illustrious examples remain) and public: the Palazzo dei Priori and the adjacent buildings, the Cathedral, the Baptistery.
The subsequent discovery of another natural resource in the territory, alum, will instead mark the end of Volterra's prosperity, attracting the sights of Florence, which in 1472 inflicts a brutal sack on the city, from which it will never recover. .
The result of this rapid decline is an admirable urban fabric, even more preserved than the average of Tuscan cities, which today attracts the appreciation of visitors.
翻译:沃尔泰拉的历史中心有一个特殊性,这也使其有别于最近的托斯卡纳历史中心,特别是托斯卡纳山城家族。
其独特之处在于:虽然它拥有辉煌的中世纪历史(从其建筑形式可以看出),但这座中世纪城市的规模比伊特鲁里亚时代的规模要小得多,当时它的名字是维拉斯里(Velathri),统治的地区始于Val di Pesa,靠近佛罗伦萨,一直延伸到海边。
事实上,伊特鲁里亚城市的城墙在规模最大的时期(公元前 3 世纪上半叶)长达 7 公里,面积达 116 公顷;而这座依然繁荣的中世纪城市的城墙长 2.6 公里,占地 26 公顷。
这些数据反映在沃尔泰拉的政治历史中,沃尔泰拉非常强大,是伊特鲁里亚联盟中最后一个承认罗马统治的城市(公元前260年);它们也反映在该市的人口统计中,据估计,在伊特鲁里亚时期,该市居民已达到 25,000 人,而在中世纪(14 世纪初)的鼎盛时期,该市居民估计已达到 12,000 人(这一数字但对于那个时代来说,这已经是非常了不起的了)。
因此,现在的沃伊泰拉以北的一大片地区被纳入伊特鲁里亚城市,但不包括在中世纪城市;出于对历史发现的应有尊重,它也没有被包括在现代建筑中,这阻碍了向北的建设。这个案例让我与公元前五世纪西西里岛锡拉丘兹的案例(甚至更宏观)进行比较。以及随后的时代。
中世纪城市的主要经济资源是开采周边地区的岩盐。然而,如果随着时间的推移,城市中没有形成一个商业阶级,并专注于抓住这个机会,以此为城市的繁荣奠定基础,那么这种资源的存在就不会起到决定性的作用。繁荣反过来又解释了许多城市建筑的高贵和权力,无论是私人建筑(其中保留着杰出的例子的塔楼)还是公共建筑:普里奥里宫和邻近的建筑、大教堂、洗礼堂。
随后在该地区发现的另一种自然资源——明矾,反而标志着沃尔泰拉繁荣的结束,吸引了佛罗伦萨的目光,佛罗伦萨在 1472 年对这座城市进行了残酷的洗劫,从此永远无法恢复。 。
这种快速衰落的结果是形成了令人钦佩的城市结构,甚至比托斯卡纳城市的平均水平保存得更好,如今吸引着游客的欣赏。