VOLTERRA, a town of Italy, in the province of Pisa, 51 miles by rail east-south-east from Leghorn, and 35 by road west-north-west from Siena, stands on a commanding olive-clad eminence about 1600 feet above sea-level, and is surrounded by the massive remains of its ancient walls, some 4½ miles in circuit. The most important relic of its Etrurian period is the Porta dell’ Arco, an archway of dark grey stone, about 20 feet in height, the corbels of which are adorned with almost obliterated heads, probably representing the guardian deities of the city. Volterra possesses several public buildings of interest, dating from the period of its republican independence in the 13th century. The Palazzo dei Priori, or Palazzo Pubblico (1208-57), is a handsome building, unfortunately somewhat modernized in its windows and mouldings; it contains a very valuable collection of Etruscan antiquities, especially cinerary urns. The cathedral, consecrated in 1120, but enlarged and adorned by Niccolo Pisano in 1254, has a fine pulpit of that period, and on the high altar are sculptures by Mino da Fiesole; in the transept is a remarkably fine Annunciation by Luca Signorelli. The baptistery also, supposed to date in part from the 7th century, largely belongs to the 13th; the font is by Andrea di Sansovino, and the ciborium by Mino da Fiesole. The citadel, now a house of correction, consists of two portions, the Rocca Vecchia, built in 1343 by Walter de Brienne, duke of Athens, and the Rocca Nuova, built by the Florentines (1472). The inhabitants are chiefly employed in the manufacture of vases and other ornaments from alabaster, of good quality, found in the vicinity of Volterra and near Leghorn. The population in 1881 was 5347 (commune 14,063)....