Volterra, known to the ancient Etruscans as Velathri, to the Romans as Volaterrae, is a town and comune in the Tuscany region of Italy.
The town was a Neolithic settlement and an important Etruscan center (Velathri or Felathri in Etruscan, Velàthre, Βελάθρη in Greek) with an original civilization. The site is believed to have been continuously inhabited as a city since at least the end of the 8th century BC. It became a municipium in the Roman Age. The city was a bishop's residence in the 5th century, and its episcopal power was affirmed during the 12th century.
With the decline of the episcopate, Volterra became a place of interest of the Florentines, whose forces conquered Volterra. Florentine rule was not always popular, and opposition occasionally broke into rebellion. These rebellions were put down by Florence.
When the Florentine Republic fell in 1530, Volterra came under the control of the Medici family and later followed the history of the Grand Duchy of Tuscany.
Volterra is a lunar crater that is located in the northern latitudes on the far side of the Moon. To the northeast is the crater Olivier, and to the south-southwest lies von Békésy. This is an eroded crater formation, particularly along the western side where the rim is more uneven. A small crater lies across the northeast rim edge. The interior floor is relatively level in the eastern half, while the west is marked by several remnants of small craterlets in the surface.
By convention these features are identified on lunar maps by placing the letter on the side of the crater midpoint that is closest to Volterra.
Volterra may refer to the following:
In mathematics: