With the arrival of the Etruscan civilization, Volterra, located in the heart of Tuscany, was the birthplace of the art of working alabaster and became its traditional and exclusive centre.

The name “alabaster” is undoubtedly Egyptian and probably derives from the city of Alabastron which was famous for the manufacture of vases and amphorae made as perfume containers.

The alabaster industry is a typical example of the taste of the Italian artist and of a tradition which carries on renewing itself continually over time.

Alabaster, sensitive and fragile, needs the hand of man to give it life. In the white-powder filled workshops every day new shapes are made ranging between art and handicraft. The fascination of objects in alabaster comes from the fact that they cannot be reproduced; they are handmade by someone who has left his own particular imprint and a memory of himself in his work. This is expression of Volterra`s culture.

Alabaster is material which leaves a hint of magic about it. It is magical in its continuous and unexpected mutations, in its fragility which makes it as breakable as glass, in the lazy abandonment with which, ever so slowly, it allows water to permeate; in its appearance ranging from glass, rock, salt or a jewel; and again in its creation, improvement and ageing over time like a living thing. It is difficult to identify the exact point at which the material ends and its reflection begins; it is impossible to understand how deeply light penetrates into its soft transparency.

Volterra alabaster, made from sulphates of hydrated calcium, is excavated in the area around the city and was used on a large scale; the Etruscans were the first to carve alabaster for their cinerary urns. These beautifully sculptured urns portraying the recumbent deceased and scenes of everyday life, fantastic journeys to the world beyond and well-known episodes from Greek mythology are housed in the Guarnacci Museum in Volterra and the Archeological Museum in Florence. The Etruscans chose the highest quality pure alabaster which they painted with minerals and sometimes decorated with a very thin layer of gold.

The manufacture of alabaster had its culmination at the end of the 18th Century with the production of many high quality objects which reached the far corners of the world thanks to the initiative of "alabaster travelers".
Art of working on this warm and luminous stone has been passed from father to son for thousands of years and today represents one of the most significant examples of artistic Italian craftsmanship.

Today, there are a few alabaster workshops in the old city centre, the visitor to Volterra can find masterpieces to suite all tastes.