Venue
International School of Higher Education “SIAF”
SP del Monte Volterrano – Località “Il Cipresso” – 56048 Volterra (PI)
Phone: (+39) 0588 81266 – 86855
Fax.: (+39) 0588 86414
e-mail: info@siafvolterra.eu
Web: https://www.siafvolterra.eu
A powerful Etruscan center since the IX century BC, Volterra is a walled mountaintop town located 531 m above sea level, overlooking the Cecina Valley in the Province of Pisa, Tuscany (Italy).
Casual clothing in SIAF and during meetings.
Additional Information: https://volterratur.it/en/
Weather: in Volterra the Summer is hot, take a look at the weather site: https://www.3bmeteo.com/meteo/volterra
There is a swimming pool at the facility where we will be staying! Remember to pack a swimsuit and a swimming cap, to use it in your free time.
How to get to Volterra …
… on foot
The traditional way to reach Volterra is by foot along the old route via Francigena, which pilgrims from Canterbury and other North European cities have used for centuries to reach Rome, pray at the tomb of Peter, and see the Pope. In 990, Bishop Sigeric traveled this road from Rome to Canterbury in 79 stages and left his description (https://www.viefrancigene.org/en/sigerics-itinerary/).
Today, the Francigena is again operational. Its stations, relais, and hostels are reasonably close together, and the distance between them can be covered in one day on foot or by bicycle (https://www.viefrancigene.org/en/the-path/).
San Gimignano is the station on the via Francigena closest to Volterra. They are 25 km apart, and the distance can be covered in 6 hours.
… or by other means
The nearest railway station is Cecina on the Rome-Livorno-Pisa railway line. Cecina belongs to the Province of Livorno (Leghorn, in English). The Cecina railway station is about 40 Km from SIAF-Volterra, 60 Km from Pisa, 50 Km from Livorno, and 300 Km from Rome.
It takes about 3-4 hours by train from “Roma Termini” to Cecina, 30 minutes from “Livorno Centrale,” and 40-50 minutes from “Pisa Centrale.” See https://www.trenitalia.com/en.html.
Participants arriving by train at Cecina railway station on Wednesday, August 6, can use the complimentary SIAF-ISODARCO shuttle service to the course venue. A minibus or a car with an ISODARCO sign will be waiting outside the station. If you do not find anyone, call SIAF (Tel. (+39) 0588 81266 – 86855).
Please let us know your travel plans and arrival time at Cecina as soon as possible so we can better coordinate this shuttle transportation.
A similar shuttle service will operate on Wednesday the 13th.
The closest airports to Cecina are Pisa airport (https://www.pisa-airport.com/en/) and Florence airport (https://www.aeroporto.firenze.it/en/ ).
One must travel to Cecina (Livorno) by train from these cities. For train information, see https://www.trenitalia.com/en.html.
Pisa airport and Pisa Central Station are connected by taxi and by the monorail “PisaMover” (https://pisa-mover.com/en/ ). Starting from the airport, the Pisa Central Station PisaMover stop is the second (and last) one.
Florence Airport and Florence Central Station (“Santa Maria Novella”) are connected by taxi and by the tramway “T2”. Starting from the airport, the name of the Florence Central Station T2 stop is “Alamanni / Stazione Centrale Santa Maria Novella”)
Important: On Wednesday, August 6, a complimentary bus for ISODARCO participants will leave Pisa airport at 6 p.m. sharp. Another complimentary bus for ISODARCO participants will leave Florence airport at 5 p.m. sharp.
Those interested should write to us as soon as possible to reserve a seat and obtain information on where to meet the bus (we need your information, as name, flight number and phone contact, in order to pass them to SIAF staff).
On Wednesday, August 13, our complimentary buses will leave SIAF at 6 a.m. and arrive at Pisa Airport around 7:15 a.m. and Florence Airport around 8 a.m., depending on the traffic conditions.
On Wednesday 6th, a hostess/steward service will be provided by SIAF staff, to ensure that participants can easily find the bus. The staff will arrive at the airports one hour before the bus departures to collect the people. Meeting point: arrival hall of each airport.
Participants who cannot use the complimentary bus or shuttle must arrange their transportation to and from SIAF.