Fiesole is a very old town that sits high on a hill above Florence. It is most famous now for its spectacular views of Florence from the northeast. But for a long time the view was only of an empty river valley beneath some beautiful hills. The Etruscan hill-town of Fiesole was probably built around 800 years before Julius Caesar established Florence (then Florentia) as a settlement for his veteran soldiers in 59 BC. The Romans had conquered Fiesole in 283 BC, and the town was the sight of the half Roman, half Vandal general Flavius Stilicho's victory over the German barbarians in 405 AD. After more attacks during the Gothic Wars and by the Eastern Emperor Justinian, Fiesole became an independent city during the early middle ages. Florence and Fiesole, who were about equal in power at the time, fought many times unitl 1125, when Florence finally conquered Fiesole for good. It eventually became a place for rich, Renaissance-era Florentines to build their country villas.
Did I say there wouldn't be too much information? Okay, enough history. On with some pictures.
The view from Fiesole is great, and will be documented in the next posting, but the town itself is pretty nice. The good ole' number 7 bus will take you up from Florence to Fiesole's main piazza, which may or may not be called Piazza Mino.
This statue represents the meeting of Giuseppe Garibaldi and Vittorio Emanuel II in 1860. These two were instrumental in the unification of Italy, called the Risorgimento. Vittorio Emanuel II became the first king of a unified Italy.
The Fiesole Cathedral is a Romanesque church that is dedicated to Saint Romulus of Fiesole.
The altarpiece. There it is.
The church has a shrine to the martyr St. Romulus, who might have been the first Bishop of Fiesole, and his martyr friends. There's also a shrine to St. Donatus of Fiesole. He was another Bishop of Fiesole and came from Ireland.
These guys disapproved of my picture taking.
We went to a little museum that has a lot of Etruscan remains, two cats, and one humorous curator. Outside the museum are a lot of Roman ruins. See. They're ruined.
Well, not all are ruined. The amphitheater still looks good. It has a nice view to the hills and valleys to the northeast (complete opposite to the view of Florence).
Sarah had a performance on the ancient stage.
She played to a packed house.
And one rude jerk of a heckler.
Actually, they still have concerts in the amphitheater. That would be a pretty nice venue.
I did not open this door. It apparently contains the danger of death.
I had been keeping a file on the old computer of images of tiny vehicles in Italy. It may have been lost with the old computer. If not I might eventually have a posting dedicated to small cars. Anyway, here is one example.
Part two will continue with the views from Fiesole.
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