The Twilight Saga: The Official Illustrated Guide (28 page)

Gianna
knew the Volturi’s secret and kept it, serving them in the hope of one day being turned into a vampire. She knew that if she was not found helpful enough, she would be killed, but she chose to take the risk. Unfortunately, the Volturi decided her skills were less valuable than her blood.

T
he Volturi maintain a permanent home in Volterra, Italy, which most of the actual coven—Caius being the exception—rarely leaves. The Volturi founded the town of Volterra three thousand years ago, during the time of the Etruscans. The Volturi still own almost all of the property in the vicinity.

Most of the living space is located below ground, in tunnels that run three stories beneath the town.

The main structure of the Volturi’s actual home is a castle constructed during medieval times, built into the walls of the ancient city. The most noticeable feature of the castle is the large turret that rises above the rest of the structure. Most of the living space is located below ground, in tunnels that run three stories beneath the town.

There are several entrances to the Volturi castle. The front door is located at street level. It opens to a reception area, where there is always a very polite human to receive visitors, as well as several inconspicuous surveillance cameras. All the doors in the room lead to dead-end, innocuous offices, and the elevator is heavily secured. This door is never used by the Volturi, their guard, or anyone who has real business with them. The elevator leads to another reception area, with even higher security.

The castle can also be accessed from Volterra’s sewers. Several drainage holes in the stone-paved streets lead to often-used Volturi passageways. These drains are covered by iron grilles that are too heavy to be lifted by several human men together. These passages also lead to the second reception
area, where the human in charge is aware of the nature of her bosses.

Thanks to Heidi’s gift, when she asks her tourists to follow her into the beautiful, ancient tunnel that leads to an amazing castle, none of them refuse.

The most often used door is not actually located within the city. Rather, this door is located in the cellar of an ancient church outside the walls, somewhat hidden in the hills. Heidi’s tours always end in this quaint, concealed historical landmark located beside a small private landing strip (owned by the Volturi). Just in case someone were to recognize the Tuscan landscape, there is no cell-phone service available. Thanks to Heidi’s gift, when she asks her tourists to follow her into the beautiful, ancient tunnel that leads to an amazing castle, none of them refuse. This tunnel bypasses both reception areas and leads directly to the Volturi turret.

The turret contains the main meeting room of the Volturi, and also the dining room. They have made no attempt to make it comfortable for humans; the stone walls are not insulated, and there is no heat or cooling or artificial lighting. The room is lit by the arrow slits high above. The lone furnishings are three massive thronelike chairs that belong to Aro, Caius, and Marcus. They use these thrones when they are acting as magistrates, hearing cases against vampires who have infringed on the law. In the center of the room is a slight depression that contains a drainage grate. The Volturi dispose of the bodies of their victims through this hole, which sits above a very deep cavern. Routinely, these remains are reduced en masse by acid.

“E
DWARD WILL BE UNDER THE CLOCK TOWER
,
TO THE NORTH OF THE SQUARE
.”

—Alice, to Bella (
New Moon
, Chapter 20)

“T
HE REUNITED
A
MAZONS HAD BEEN ANXIOUS TO RETURN HOME AS WELL
—
THEY HAD A DIFFICULT TIME BEING AWAY FROM THEIR BELOVED RAIN FOREST
….”

—Bella (
Breaking Dawn
, Chapter 39)

T
he Amazon coven consists of three sisters, Kachiri, Zafrina, and Senna, all natives of the Pantanal wetlands. The sisters never interact with humans except when hunting; they do not associate with them or make any pretense of behaving in a human way. They are feral in appearance and rarely leave the unpopulated wetlands except to hunt. Few vampires—including the Volturi—have ever heard of this coven.

K
ACHIRI

Kachiri belonged to an ancient native tribe located on the
fringe of the Pantanal. After she was changed, she went back for her two closest friends. They’ve been together ever since, rarely leaving the wetlands, hunting in the habitations along the fringes. Their self-sufficient way of life has kept them a secret from most other vampires. Carlisle and his family discovered them in the 1940s while on a hunting trip; the Cullens’ interest in large animal game brought them to an area other vampires dismissed for its lack of human prey. The Amazons were quite taken with Carlisle’s gentle, friendly manner.

Their self-sufficient way of life has kept them a secret from most other vampires.

S
ENNA

Z
AFRINA