About Volterra home of the International Group

Volterra is the small town in Tuscany, Italy where Teatro di Nascosto is based. Below are two poems, one by a local and one by an Iraqi actor, paying homage to the place. Click on the 'Artists of Volterra' section for interviews with local artists and characers. Click on the 'School Projects' section for information on how the local children and young people engage with Theatre Reportage and amplifying the voice of people living in the territories of conflict.

Volterra, I Will

Volterra
The morning smile scented with roses
the smile of a bird
flying over the mountains
between grapes woodlands
and singing
I’m free
without borders

Volterra
the infinite smile of children in the morning
and the delight of the valley at the spring rain
the shimmer of a day at early hours of dawn
I miss you

let me sleep on your lap like an infant
drink more wine and be lost
and rest
from anxieties of affections
and distant hope

Volterra
the blush on the good people’s cheeks
will I come back to you one day?
I will, I will

Asaad Hail
Actor from Basra, Iraq

La città-nave

Per arrivare a Volterra occorrono mille miglia
di querce, sassi e tramontana, intere
frontiere di lupi e cinghiali, giorni lunghi
siderali e spazi immensi

e aspri, uomini arcigni e solitari, terre
d’argilla assolate, inospitali, pietre durissime
da scolpire, mura chiuse e feritoie
e una pena sottile, che assale…

Roberto Veracini Volterran Poet

School Projects with young people of Volterra

As well as performing in front of European Parliament and across Europe and the Middle East, Teatro di Nascosto also has a long standing connection with the high schools of Volterra. We involve young people in performances, volunteering for events and through connecting with our members in the territories of conflict. Find below examples of these collaborations and meet some of the young people helping out.

Hundreds of young people in Volterra, Italy went into the central square holding dreams of Iraqi people for a life free of war. Video made from a feature on RAI Italian TV Regional Tuscany Station and a clip of the Baghdad Peace Carnival giving a shout out to Volterra.