Hotel Nazionale, Volterra; Volterra hotel

Hotel Nazionale, Volterra

The Hotel Nazionale in Volterra - this Volterra hotel has a superb position, just 50 metres from the Piazza dei Priori, often described as 'one of the most beautiful squares in all Italy'. And this charming three-star hotel makes the perfect base from which to explore this very ancient city. A long way from the picture book prettiness of a Siena or Lucca, Volterra has a rugged and rather bleak beauty. It sits high on a plateau, encased within its medieval walls, and visitor DH Lawrence described it as 'a sort of inland island, curiously isolated and grim ... it gets all the wind in the world'. The stark beauty of this Tuscan city is exemplified by its little medieval heart, with cobbled streets and dark stone palazzi, with walled gateways opening to reveal terrific views of the landscape below.

This Volterra hotel has been in business since 1890, and has been continually renovated and improved. The double and triple bedrooms are all unique, each decorated slightly differently, and each with phone, shower and toilet, and television. The hotel offers a buffet breakfast, and the restaurant serves superb Tuscan cuisine, made with the freshest, most local and most seasonal ingredients, derived from organic farms. The perfect complement, of course, is fine Tuscan wines, drawing from the best of this superb wine region. Nearby sights to this Volterra hotel include the Teatro Romano, the Pinacoteca (art gallery), the Port all'Arco, the Duomo and the Museo Etrusco.

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Double room from €45