Vampires in Volterra: ‘Twilight’ Tourism in Tuscany

The windswept, medieval Tuscan town of Volterra has experienced an uptick in tourism, thanks to the hype surrounding New Moon, the second book in the teenage vampire series Twilight.

Author Stephenie Meyer set some scenes between Bella, the heroine, and Edward, her undead lover, in Volterra. This has prompted many Twilight fans to plan trips to Volterra. And the city’s tourism board has obliged by creating the New Moon tour.

Volterra has never really been much of a tourist hotspot, being highly overshadowed by nearby Pisa, the capital of its province, and dozens of other small towns and villages in Tuscany. And though the town has its own rich history, nothing in its legends has ever pointed to vampires. According to La Stampa, Meyer chose the city for “assonance.”

V is for vampire and also for Volterra.

Want to know what else to do in Volterra? Visit the Official Volterra Tourism Website. Here you can learn about Volterra’s museums, including the Guarnacci Etruscan Museum, which showcases the history and artifacts from Volterra’s ancient past.

Maybe Edward was Etruscan? I don’t know. But that would also work with Meyer’s affinity for assonance.

And here’s another curiosity — the Volterra scenes in New Moon weren’t even filmed there. Instead, they were shot in the city of Montepulciano, approximately two hours southeast of Volterra.

Post first published on November 6, 2009