Porta all'Arco
Porta all'Arco
4.5
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4.5
305 reviews
Excellent
143
Very good
134
Average
24
Poor
2
Terrible
2
Thomas R
Atlanta223 contributions
Oct 2012 • Couples
For me, this old arch was a 5 on the scale of historic attractions. As I looked at it, I wondered about life here when it was first constructed. They were very different times.
You need to be in relatively good shape if you plan to make the walk down over the hill from city center to see the arch because the hill is fairly steep. However, if you make the walk, you will become witness to the engineering and masonry skills of a people (Etruscans) who lived long ago.
Looking at the wall again, I knew that on the day they were finishing the arch, those who constructed it could have had no idea what the world would look like today. You can see my trip to the wall was a philosophical journey through time. I loved it!!
You need to be in relatively good shape if you plan to make the walk down over the hill from city center to see the arch because the hill is fairly steep. However, if you make the walk, you will become witness to the engineering and masonry skills of a people (Etruscans) who lived long ago.
Looking at the wall again, I knew that on the day they were finishing the arch, those who constructed it could have had no idea what the world would look like today. You can see my trip to the wall was a philosophical journey through time. I loved it!!
Written 29 October 2012
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
Eburacensis
York, UK38 contributions
Sept 2013 • Couples
You don't often see a city gateway this old. (They should make more of the fact that the citizens preserved it in 1944 by burying in stones to stop the German army demolishing it in the face of the US advance.)
Written 4 October 2013
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
TrezzR
Toronto, Canada107 contributions
Aug 2019
So interesting to read the history of this and then seeing it in real life. So thankful to have witnessed this.
Written 5 September 2019
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
Pinkertonx
Hereford, UK1,530 contributions
June 2018 • Couples
This gate is the only Etruscan remains of the ancient walls. Later sandstone decoration dates to the 4th century AD. Just up the street there is a shop with a fascinating piece of history on display in the window: The Germans decided to destroy the gate to hinder the Allied advance, but the mayor pleaded to let the townsfolk block the gate with stoned. The Germans agreed but gave them only 24 hours to make the gate unusable, thinking this would be impossible. But the townsfolk did it, working in teams all through the night and on July 1, 1944 the gate was sealed and saved.
Written 2 July 2018
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
Wenovo
Morris County, NJ2,030 contributions
Sept 2015 • Couples
You can't miss this gate when you are in Volterra, but you can easily miss seeing the three lions heads on the top. They look like they are crumbling away, almost unrecognizable, centuries old, real find for history lovers...
Architectural monument from Etruscan time.
An interesting spot , you can view for free ...
Architectural monument from Etruscan time.
An interesting spot , you can view for free ...
Written 8 January 2016
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
Cecilia T
Houston, TX429 contributions
Oct 2015 • Couples
Porto all'Arco is the most famous architectural monument from Etruscan time in Volterra.
We visited it on a rainy morning and saw the three heads which dated back to 3rd century B.C. The arch was built with different stones, suggesting remediations over different periods of time.
Realizing that history had changed many times since this antiquity was installed, evoked a sense of revere in me.
We visited it on a rainy morning and saw the three heads which dated back to 3rd century B.C. The arch was built with different stones, suggesting remediations over different periods of time.
Realizing that history had changed many times since this antiquity was installed, evoked a sense of revere in me.
Written 27 December 2015
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
Dudley C
Melbourne, Australia60 contributions
Sept 2015 • Couples
We walked around the old roman wall that surrounds Volterra - some 7 kms - and visited each of the ancient gateways that go back in time. Each has its own character, butt hiss one has a special story that relates to the German retreat in the second world war. I will say no more except that these gates ooze history and make you want to touch the ancient stonework.
Written 9 November 2015
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
Celia D
Ayr, UK18 contributions
July 2014 • Couples
This gateway to the city is just so old that it difficult to imagine anything built now lasting for so long. Very impressive! We were there when the locals were re-enacting the blocking up of the gate to prevent its destruction in 1944 -using paving blocks from the street.
Written 21 July 2014
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
Martin M
North Canton, OH12 contributions
Sept 2019
Don't pass up Volterra, the town is beautiful and the views from the city walls are worth the trip alone.
Written 8 October 2019
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
enrixo
Volterra, Italy106 contributions
Sept 2019
The Porta all'Arco was built by the Etruscans and appears to be one of the first examples of "arch" of the human civilization. This monument made it possible to understand the forces of the arch, and therefore the possibility of building more levels in height. The great Rome, arrived after the Etruscans, probably built its palaces using this methodology.
Written 20 September 2019
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
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