Fiesole

Fiesole was an Etruscan city and later a Roman one while Florence below was still a veterans' settlement, and it stayed independent until Florence destroyed it in 1125. The archaeological area holds a Roman theatre of about three thousand seats, Roman baths, an Etruscan temple and a long stretch of Etruscan city wall in massive blocks; the theatre is still used for the Estate Fiesolana concert season in summer. The terrace by San Francesco gives the standard view over Florence in its basin. Frank Lloyd Wright lived here in 1910, and the hill has drawn foreign residents since the nineteenth century.

Background

Fiesole began in the seventh century BC as Vipsul and became one of the earliest and most important urban centres of the Etruscan world. Under the Romans, as Faesulae, it had a well-known school of augurs, and each year twelve young men came from Rome to learn divination. The Roman theatre has 19 tiers of stone seats and a diameter of 37 yards, and the baths below keep five parallel concrete vaults. A hoard of more than 1,000 silver denarii, all minted before 63 BC, came to light here in 1829. Since the fourteenth century wealthy Florentines have used the hill as a retreat, and villas with formal gardens still line it.

Source: Wikipedia, "Fiesole"

The main sights

• The Roman theatre - three thousand seats, still used for summer concerts.
• The Etruscan walls - massive block walls older than Florence itself.
• The San Francesco terrace - the classic view down over the city.
• The archaeological museum - Etruscan and Roman finds from the hill.

When to go

April to October; the Estate Fiesolana concerts run in June and July in the Roman theatre. Summer days are cooler here than in Florence.

Good to know

The bus up is slow and crowded. The walk to San Francesco is steep. The archaeological area is compact and can feel thin for the ticket price.

Nearby

Florence lies below; the Mugello valley runs north.

Key facts