The Diocese of Volterra is a Latin diocese of the Catholic Church in Tuscany, central Italy. It is a suffragan of the Archdiocese of Pisa.

History

Volterra was an ancient Etruscan town, later conquered by the Romans. According to the Liber Pontificalis, Volterra was the birthplace of St. Linus, the immediate successor of St. Peter. Nothing is known of its Christian origins. Justus (560), along with his brother Clement and Ottaviano, is one of the three patrons of the diocese of Volterra, and was involved in the Schism of the Three Chapters. In the Carolingian period it belonged to the Marquisate of Tuscany; with the approval of Henry, son of Frederick Barbarossa, its governance passed into the hands of the bishop, until his temporal authority was suspended by the commune. In the wars or factions of the 13th century, Volterra, being Ghibelline, was continually embroiled with the Florentines, who captured it in 1254, but won permanent control only in 1361. The diocese of Volterra was immediately subject to the Holy See until 1856, when it became a suffragan of Pisa.

Diocesan synods

A diocesan synod was an irregularly held but important meeting of the bishop of a diocese and his clergy. Its purposes were to proclaim the various decrees already issued by the bishop, to discuss and ratify measures on which the bishop chose to consult with his clergy, and to publish statutes and decrees of the diocesan synod, of the provincial synod, and of the Holy See. Bishop Guido Servidio (1574–1598) presided over a diocesan synod in the cathedral of Volterra on 8–10 May 1590, and had the constitutions of the meeting published. Bishop Orazio degli Albizzi (1655–1676) held a diocesan synod on 2 October 1657, and published the acts; he held another synod on 11 November 1674. A diocesan synod was held by Bishop Ottavio del Rosso (1681–1714) in the cathedral on 14–15 June 1684, the acts of which were published. He held his second synod in the cathedral of Volterra on 26–27 April 1690; its decrees were also published.

Bishops of Volterra

to 800

800 to 1200

1200 to 1500

1500 to 1800

since 1800

Notes and references

Books

Studies