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Volturi home

Because I studied landscape architecture for a while I was curious how many floors the Volturi home could be, considering it’s built underneath the current Volterra city and was started being built in the Etruscan era. Unfortunately I did not have access anymore to arcgis so everything is based on free access maps, articles and pictures of the city. That I went there last may helped too.

The map

There would be three entrances and because of the sewers, the first floor would start at least 3 or 4 metres deep. The soil is mostly clay but the hill is made out of sand and calcarenites. Structures in clay tend to fall apart, so I kind of believe the volturi structure would almost only exist in the sand section. Which is btw still around 75 metres thick... lots of possibilities. I added the necropolis as well because that is where the Etruscans buried their dead. There are also tunnels and tombs there, so why wouldn't the kings have built a tunnel there? If you want to know how Etruscan structures look like underground: I found a website that has pictures. This is where our beloved volturi vampires live.. maybe they structured it a bit more over the centuries. Adding libraries and training grounds with a bit of fantasy. Here is a website that shows how the acropolis looked like if you are interested.

The entrances:

And then I was also looking for good spots for the entries of their home. The palazzo is a tourist spot, a town hall and has no basement, not quite ideal! Here are my suggestions:

Not the main entry but a way for the Volturi lower guards to leave the main area and guard the city easily. A restaurant showcased an archeological site underneath their floor. It’s supposed to be an old path and entry to a house from the Etruscan era. What if several houses are owned by the volturi that have such entries? Guards could easily leave the underground area to guard the city. Most houses had basement floors that were clearly unused. Of course there can’t be too many or they would have a risk with so many entries.

There is an archaeological site on the hill where the remains lie of the acropolis. Many parts were closed off because, according to the information there, you could fall down several metres deep. It’s deep and they cannot explore it because of the vulnerability of the rocks. What if one of these are an official entry for guard duties? They simply need to jump or climb and open it. At night there are no humans around and there aren’t street lamps around either. (Ignore my shoes lol)

Just outside of the walls I found a war monument. It’s a bit of a quiet spot with a beautiful view, you can see a lot of the area there. There is a sewer underneath those tiles and it seems to go pretty deep. I was thinking this could be a modern entry for an older tunnel they had built. And this would be the official known entry for other covens to visit the Volturi. Just like in the books, they would have to walk through a sewer, or climb down a tunnel inside the sewer. Bonus: it’s big enough for Felix to enter :)

Other important notes:

In the books and the movies the throne room is built in the tower. That is impossible if you would use Volterra as how it’s really built. Instead, the throne room would be ancient and deep underground. Etruscan writings on the walls and definitely Etruscan structures. In that case; Bella, Edward and Alice would be led into a secluded area where no light or air would ever come. Aka, Bella wouldn’t be able to breathe there and die before she would even get close to arriving there. Cough, cough, dusty kings.

Same goes for the queens. There is no tower big enough to have a room. You could have them live in one of the houses but I would say the kings keep them in a secluded room somewhere deep underground… poor women.

As for Heidi’s tour: I have found abandoned buildings in the Volterra area. It is technically possible for a tunnel to be built leading towards the city. Several archeologists in articles have explained that the Etruscans were constantly building tunnels of which most are not yet found. Realistically, I would say they have a space built underground just outside the city, leading a tunnel towards that. The humans get eaten there and their bodies are disposed of or destroyed at the abandoned building. No accid needed! In the modern times I would think Heidi has them killed in the abandoned building, has guards put their blood in pretty jars and bottles and then delivers those to every guard and the kings. With so much surveillance and technology nowadays she maybe even just orders blood or they own blood banks..

Additional

There is so much information available about the Etruscans and their structures. I bought books and I haven't read everything yet. Most of the knowledge is gone so there is so much we don't know. Several articles have stated that there are structures beneath the city of Volterra we will never find or get access to! It is super interesting. I haven't even talked about the amfi theatre… If someone wants to add their thoughts or knowledge, please do!

Used sources

My own pictures from my visit there.

Books I bought there:

Volterra miniguide history, monuments and art

Guidorama The Etruscans

Guidorama Volterra

Websites:

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THE TWILIGHT SAGA: NEW MOON (2009)

Time passes. Every tick that goes by...aches...like the pulse of blood behind a bruise...But in a way I'm glad. The pain is the only reminder he was real...that you all were...

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ECLIPSE: deleted scene

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“The right thing isn’t always real obvious. Sometimes the right thing for one person is the wrong thing for someone else. So…good luck figuring that out.”

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“You’ll always be my Bella.”

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I've never given much thought to how I would die, but dying in the place of someone I love seems like a good way to go. I can't bring myself to regret the decisions that brought me face to face with death. They also brought me to Edward.

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This has to be my favourite deleted scene!

They are just so cute!

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I love you, you little ginger virgin. Can I ask you at what point of your honeymoon night, that you were so overwhelmed, you bit a pillow

the normal point when that usually happens

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the renaissance of freaky vampires in media makes me so unbelievably happy it’s what god intended.

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hi tiny edward!

salutations

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Hey, I don't know if this has ever been brought up but I think SM changed the whole "sparkling in sunlight" effects for Midnight Sun. Maybe it's just how human perspective differs from a vampire's when it happens, but I could've sworn Edward described it as looking like a man on fire (a bright flare all over his body, liquid fire under his skin, something like that). Idk it seemed important to bring up?

The whole sparkling reveal is very different from Bella's POV; it feels like it might be another SM retcon, like she was trying to reframe it as the origin of the 'vampires burn in sunlight' thing vs Bella's just being like "wow! pretty!" in the original.

By that I mean Bella's narration has Edward step into the sun and then the next chapter begins with them already resting in the meadow together as she admires him, she says she's been staring "all afternoon." We don't get her immediate reaction. We get an after-the-fact description.

From Edward's POV, Bella screams his name, looks distressed, and hurries toward him, and he sees himself reflected in her eyes and looks like a 'man on fire' and he suspects she thinks he might be. He holds out a hand to keep her from running into him, she asks if it hurts him, he says no, he's in awe that she's afraid for the monster rather than of the monster, yada yada.

Bella didn't tell us any of that. And it could be because the chapter from Bella's POV is literally SM's original dream, and she wrote it as it happened and with MS she felt she could elaborate more. Or maybe it was a retcon because she had put up with the "lol sparkling vampires" stuff for years and wanted to reframe it and lean into the vampire myth of burning in the sun a bit more.

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Do the teeny tiny Edwards on your shoulders have teenier tinier Edwards on their shoulders?

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Actually it would’ve been hilarious if Charlie was out hunting deer and just ran into Esme as she’s just finished hunting. She’s perfectly polite as she greets him and chit chats about how much she just loves hiking, not realizing there’s a smear of blood across her chin and a twig in her hair

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hello mr tiny, what day is in your calendar

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what would you or your family do if suddenly everyone discovered the existence of vampires and was kinda ok with that

surely everyone would see the evil inherent to a vampiric existence and destroy us immediately

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Gaming time!! 🎮