Discover Palazzo dei Priori, Volterra

The Palazzo dei Priori stands in Volterra's historic centre, on the square that takes its name, in the province of Pisa. It is the oldest communal palace in Tuscany.

Construction was begun at the will of Ildebrando Pannocchieschi, count palatine of the Empire, and the commission was given to master Riccardo da Como in 1208. Work progressed somewhat slowly — the ground floor and part of the first floor were in use around 1234 — but the fabric must have been completed in 1257, as an epigraph in leonine hexameters walled into the palace records.

It was built on the city's most important square, right against the Duomo, where the Palazzo Pretorio, the bishop's palace, Palazzo Inghirami and other houses of the most influential families also stand.

Its first name was Domus Communis, and it was used by the Anziani as their residence. The original twenty-four Anziani became the eighteen Priori del Popolo in 1283, then the twelve Difensori del Popolo in 1289; the palace's present name comes from the title of Priori, adopted on the model of equivalent offices in Florence.

It also held the Guarnacci collection from 1785 to 1877, and was the first home of the city's picture gallery before the works moved to Palazzo Minucci-Solaini. Today it houses part of the municipal offices and temporary exhibitions.

Austere, entirely of stone, and informative mostly through what was added to it.

The fabric

The palace is built entirely in stone, and its façade is softened by string courses — horizontal mouldings marking the internal floors. That is nearly the whole of the original architectural vocabulary: a stone box with its storeys registered on the outside. For the oldest communal palace in Tuscany, begun in 1208 and finished in 1257, that austerity is the point: the type had not yet acquired ornament.

The lost open ground floor

The most significant change is the hardest to see, and it is worth hunting. The ground floor was originally open, through three portals whose outlines can still be made out in the façade, reached by a short flight of steps; only one of the three survives, as the present entrance. Behind them lay a large atrium used for meetings and gatherings.

An open, arcaded ground floor under a council chamber is the classic medieval Italian civic arrangement — the commune literally sheltered its citizens under its government. Closing it up changed the building from a public room into an office.

The Florentine overlay

Two elements were applied later and both say the same thing. The façade carries glazed terracotta plaques representing the arms of Florentine families — Bertini, Corbinelli, Del Benino, Della Stufa — because from the 15th century Volterra was governed by Florentine commissioners. Glazed terracotta is itself a Florentine speciality, so both the technique and the heraldry are imported.

The semicircular merlons crowning the front were probably made in the 16th century. Rounded merlons, rather than the square Ghibelline form, are a stylistic choice with political overtones in Tuscany.

The tower

A pentagonal tower with two crenellated levels, built around the 16th century — five-sided, which is unusual, and a late addition to a 13th-century palace. Its terminal part was rebuilt after the earthquake of 1846, so the top of the tower is 19th-century work on a 16th-century shaft above a 13th-century building.

Inside

The first floor held the palace's most representative room, the Sala del Consiglio, and the council chamber is still one of the municipal functions in the building, alongside the registry and the mayor's office.

Fifty years to build, then eight centuries of being adapted by whoever was in charge.

Commissioned in 1208, finished in 1257

Construction was begun at the will of Ildebrando Pannocchieschi, count palatine of the Empire, who entrusted the commission to master Riccardo da Como in 1208 — a named patron and a named master, which is good documentation for a building of this date.

It went slowly. The ground floor and part of the first floor were in use around 1234, which means the commune occupied an unfinished building for a generation. The fabric must have been concluded in 1257, and we know because an epigraph in leonine hexameters — rhymed Latin hexameters — is walled into the palace saying so. The building records its own completion date in verse.

Sited against the cathedral

It was deliberately placed on the city's most important square, right against the Duomo, alongside the Palazzo Pretorio, the bishop's palace and Palazzo Inghirami. Putting the Domus Communis shoulder to shoulder with the cathedral and the bishop is a statement about where civil authority stood.

Renamed by its occupants, 1283 and 1289

Not fabric, but it is why the building has the name it has. It was the Domus Communis, residence of the Anziani; the twenty-four Anziani became eighteen Priori del Popolo in 1283 and twelve Difensori del Popolo in 1289. The palace is called dei Priori after a title the council adopted on the model of Florence — the name itself is a Florentine borrowing, decades before Florentine rule.

Closed up, and decorated by its governors, from the 15th century

The three open portals of the ground floor were reduced to one, and the great atrium for meetings ceased to be an open public room. In the same period the façade received the glazed terracotta arms of Florentine families, because Volterra was now governed by Florentine commissioners.

Crowned and towered, 16th century

The semicircular merlons and the pentagonal tower with its two crenellated levels both date from around then — three centuries after the building was finished.

Filled with a museum, 1785 to 1877

The palace took in Mario Guarnacci's archaeological collection and library on his death in 1785 and held them until 1877; and across the 19th century many paintings were housed in its rooms, making it the first home of the city picture gallery until the works went to Palazzo Minucci-Solaini. For almost a century the oldest town hall in Tuscany was also its town museum.

Shaken, 1846

An earthquake damaged the tower, and its terminal part was rebuilt afterwards.

What makes this palace important?

It is the oldest communal palace in Tuscany. Construction was begun at the will of Ildebrando Pannocchieschi, count palatine of the Empire, commissioned from master Riccardo da Como in 1208, and completed in 1257 — as an epigraph in leonine hexameters walled into the building records.

Why are there Florentine coats of arms on a Volterran town hall?

Because Florence governed the town. From the 15th century Volterra was ruled by Florentine commissioners, having entered the orbit of the lily city, and the façade was decorated with glazed terracotta plaques bearing the arms of Florentine families — Bertini, Corbinelli, Del Benino and Della Stufa among them.

Why is it called "dei Priori"?

After a change of office-holders. The building was first the Domus Communis, used by the Anziani as a residence; the original twenty-four Anziani became the eighteen Priori del Popolo in 1283 and then the twelve Difensori del Popolo in 1289. The name comes from the title of Priori, adopted on the model of equivalent offices in Florence.

Can I go inside, and what does it cost?

The palace is one of the six municipal sites on the 72-hour Volterra Card — €23,00 full, €18,00 reduced — and it hosts temporary exhibitions. But no separate hours, no single-ticket price and no statement about access to the council chamber or the tower are published, because the building is also a working town hall. Ask at the comune, which is at this address: Piazza dei Priori 1, 0588 86050.

What should I look for on the façade?

Four things: the string courses marking the floors; the semicircular merlons crowning it, probably 16th-century; the glazed terracotta Florentine arms; and the outlines of three portals still discernible at ground level, of which only one survives as the present entrance. The ground floor was once open, reached by a short flight of steps, with a large atrium used for meetings behind.

What is the pentagonal tower?

A tower of two crenellated levels, built around the 16th century — five-sided, which is unusual — and rebuilt in its terminal part after the earthquake of 1846.

Was it really a museum?

Twice. It held Mario Guarnacci's archaeological collection and library from 1785 until 1877, and across the 19th century many paintings were housed in its rooms, making it the first home of the city picture gallery before all the works moved to Palazzo Minucci-Solaini.