Volterra International Workshop 2017

The Volterra International Workshop invited four schools to participate the program at Volterra, Italy. The schools that participate this year are: University of Detroit Mercy (the host of the program), Kendall College of Art and Design, Warsaw University of Technology, and University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign. The project this year takes place at the Acropolis of Volterra, where the Etruscan & Roman temple ruins and medieval walls are located. 

Volterra is a historical city sitting on a highland of Tuscany. Its critical location and natural resources are the main reasons why Volterra has been continuously inhabited since pre-Etruscan era and through Etruscan, Roman, Medieval Age, til now. 

The highground of Volterra allows views to the entire valley

The class exploring the city

The class having apéritif on the rooftop of the restaurant everyday before dinner

Site visiting: the Acropolis

Visiting the Roman cistern beneath the Acropolis hill

Roman Theatre

The Roman theatre of Volterra was built around 1st century B.C. The two additional wings were added later around 1st century A.D. A Roman bath was also discovered on the site behind the theatre, which was built around the end of the third century A.D. after the theatre was abandoned. A larger scale amphitheater was discovered outside of the city walls around 2015 and it's still undergo excavation.  

Through the theatre we can see how advanced Roman architecture was in terms of considering the structures, lighting, weather, and the site. Volterra is a city that consists layers of histories.  

The Roman Theatre

The site at some point was a dumpster of the city, and then later on become a soccer field. It was a local intellectual that decided to dig up the site and see what's underneath

The actual entrance for the audiences back in the days. Notice the light well between the vault and the bearing wall

Peeking through the opening on the wall

Notti Bianche

​The Notti Bianche (the white night festival) of Volterra was held on the July 29th. The festival was originally started in Russia and now many countries. During the festival, all the museums are free for visit until midnight, and many live music performances will be held throughout the city. 

The front facade of the museums were all lit up and can be easily spotted from afar

​One of the most important pieces in the art museum: The Deposition from the Cross by Rosso Fiorentino. According to the information panel: "The Deposition from the Cross is definitely the most popular work by Rosso Fiorentino. The large altarpiece represents a significant moment in the history of Italian painting. Experts consider that it best embodies the canons of the Mannerism, the artistic style that in the early 1500 contributed to the birth of modern painting in Italy. "

The symbol of Volterra on the ceiling of the city council hall: a griffin battling a dragon

The council hall

Live music playing on the street and people dancing outside of bars during the White Night

The Faculties

Besides the program director Professor Wladeck, we have the honor of having two other guest advisers: Architect Maciej Miłobędzki of the JEMS Architecture, and a local architect Andrea Bianchi.

Layers of History

As previously mentioned, Volterra is the oldest continuously inhabited town in Tuscany, it's rich history can be seen everywhere in the city. The following pictures are just the tip of the iceberg that shows the cultures and stories amongst this magnificent town. 

The walls are the manifestation of history itself with layers of different materials from different eras

Additional anchors and reinforcements had to be added on the old walls to prevent collapsing