Volterra-Detroit Foundation

Volterra-Detroit Foundation organizes a conference in Volterra October 21-22 2022!

The title of the conference:
Gli edifici ludici e per spettacolo di età classica: conoscenza, conservazione e valorizzazione.
(The buildings of spectacle and games of the classical age: knowledge, conservation, and enhancement.)
The conference is part of the celebrations of Volterra Capital of Culture of Tuscany for the year 2022. It is dedicated to the knowledge of Roman entertainment buildings: theaters and amphitheaters. It will bring together archeologists, scholars of who study different aspects of their original design (structure, design methodology, acoustics), those who are engaged in the daily routine of conservation, and present-day users, who organize events and festivals today within their ancient walls. The goal of the conference is also to share professional knowledge about the subject matter with the community of Volterra, the city in which well-preserved examples of both types of Roman structures exist. Participation in the conference will be free of charge for the general public.
The conference is organized in collaboration with the Politecnico di Torino Dipartimento di Architettura e Design, and with the support of the Soprintendenza Archeologia, Belle Arti e Paesaggio (province of Pisa and Livorno), Comune di Volterra, Fondazione Cassa di Risparmio di Volterra, the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign School of Architecture and School of Architecture and Community Design University of Detroit Mercy

Complimenti per il Campionato Europeo in calcio, a tutti nostri amici Italiani!
Saluti da Detroit!!!

Dear Friends;
In an alternate world, we would all be fondly remembering gathering in late September to celebrate the 10th anniversary of the Volterra-Detroit Foundation. Sadly – our collective reality is certainly different, but we remain hopeful…

We have come such a long way in ten short years since the Foundation’s start in 2010. Your past contributions and support have made all that possible.

Due to the pandemic, we suspended all programs for the spring and summer of 2020. We shifted our major programs into the fall of 2021 out of an abundance of caution.
Despite the expenses in Volterra reduced to a minimum, we still need your help to survive until when we can restart the programs next year. With programming and operational revenue at an extended standstill, we once again ask for your assistance, to carry us through until we can once again welcome people safely back to Volterra with a hearty “buon giorno!”.

Thank you for your continued support for the vision of the Volterra Detroit Foundation. Please use PayPal button on the Foundation website www.volterra-detroit.org to make your contribution. Remember that it is 100% tax deductible!

Best wishes for your continued health, safety, and wellbeing, and thank you in advance!

The Board of Directors, Volterra-Detroit Foundation

Volterra-Detroit Foundation [news] 18 Nov, 2020 Ten Years Flew By…. Ten years ago, in October 2010, we were all ten years younger… and we organized a banquet to inaugurate our effort to raise money to renovate the future Residential College in Volterra. The event took place in the Detroit Yacht Club. Around 180 people part...

Great news!
Volterra has been selected as one of the ten finalists of the program Italy Capital of Culture 2021! A giant success already, and we will be waiting for even more good news.
Congratulations to all citizens of Volterra!

Last week an amazing discovery was made at the excavation of the Roman Amphitheater in Volterra. During the work, some soil caved in and revealed entrance to an underground tunnel (cryptoporticus), which was completely undamaged. As the director of the excavations, Elena Sorge, said "I never had anything like this happen to me before, it is like an archaeologist's dream." (Elena Sorge in the picture making the first descend to the tunnel) The total length of the tunnel is not known. The part accessible right now is about 30 ft.
The discovery is already making news in Tuscany and all of Italy!

BTW, the Volterra-Detroit Foundation is one of the sponsors of the excavation, through the work of the Reality Capture Workshop.
We are very proud of being part of this fantastic project!

Seven years ago exactly we celebrated the inauguration of the International Residential College in Volterra. With the participation of the three Deans of the School of Architecture until then, Bruno Leon, Steve Vogel, and Will Wittig, the Consul of United States in Florence, the Mayor of Volterra Marco Buselli, and lots of friends from Volterra and United States. It was a beautiful event!. Since then the building served as a center of education, arts, and cultural exchange for many programs and people from around the world. This year it is empty, due to the pandemics of COVID-19. We hope to go back to the normal busy schedule as soon as possible, of course. But we would also like to express our solidarity with all people who suffer now, in Volterra, Detroit and all other locations, and hope that together we will overcome the difficulties.
Great thanks to all of you who made those seven years wonderful! Thank you for helping us build the Residential College, visiting, and joining us in Volterra for a program. It is a great success of all of us!
The Volterra-Detroit Foundation

The Volterra-Detroit Foundation supports the candidature of Volterra for the Capital of Culture of Italy in 2021. Please share the official logo below if you feel the same. If you have a warm place in your heart for this magnificent city, share your memory too... write about it in the comments below. We will repost them, for everybody to know...

The City of Volterra has submitted its candidature to become the Capital of Culture of Italy in 2021!
We can help!
Let's support Volterra in this effort! Stay tuned for updates!

Inviateci idee progetti per
Creiamo un grande processo culturale partecipativo


In vista della preparazione del dossier di candidatura, che sarà realizzato intorno al tema della “Ri-generazione umana”, il Comitato Promotore di apre le porte alle idee e invita tutte le realtà del territorio (associazioni, enti, comitati) a presentare le proprie idee all’indirizzo [email protected] entro domenica 2 febbraio, in un elaborato di max 120 righe.

Con la premessa della sostenibilità e dell’accessibilità come metodo di lavoro, i punti chiave che costituiranno l’anima del dossier di candidatura sono:
Volterra storica, la storia della città, a partire dalle sue origini etrusche e in relazione alla contemporaneità
Volterra inclusiva, dal teatro-carcere all’ex ospedale psichiatrico, alla f***a rete di associazioni che caratterizzano la città
Volterra internazionale, i progetti per una città globale e glocale
Volterra digitale, per uno sviluppo del patrimonio in chiave digitale
Volterra innovativa, la città in chiave scientifica e tecnologica
Volterra f***e, le idee per una città che ha fatto dell’analisi della pazzia e della diversità un motivo di inclusione
Volterra che cura, aperta ai bisogni di tutti
Volterritorio, una città che guarda non solo a se stessa, ma a tutto il territorio

Tutte le proposte saranno vagliate e discusse in un’assemblea aperta al pubblico in programma giovedì 6 febbraio dalle 18 alle 23 insieme ai 21 giovani, tra i 18 e i 29 anni, selezionati dalla call lanciata dal Comitato Promotore.