Fiesole, the sky above Florence

On Sunday afternoon we caught the #12 bus from Florence for Fiesole, not as easy as it sounds.  We’re discovering that when the bus information posted online says “bus stop at Santa Maria Novelle Train Station” it could mean any one of about two dozen bus stops either on or across the street.  We know enough by now to purchase the bus tickets at a Tabacchi (a tobacconist’s shop), but were told we were waiting at the wrong #12 bus stop (“Fermata”).  So after a mad dash across the street, we caught the bus labelled “Fiesole”, and were soon at the Etruscan hilltop city. 

First stop was the Archaeological Park, containing Etruscan temple ruins dating back to 600 BC, and the lovely Roman theatre and bath complex, dating from the 1^st century BC.  The modern Museum building (modern meaning dating from the 19^th century) of the Museo Archeologico adjacent to the Roman theatre is filled with artifacts from the site after it was excavated in the mid-1800s.  Along with Etruscan and Roman artifacts, the excavators uncovered a grave of a “Lombardic” warrior dating from the 8^th century AD, which they left in situ within the building.  The Etruscan human figurines, most of them made of bronze, I found particularly fascinating.  The exaggerated thinness, very long, slender figures cast in bronze, with the dull, dark green patina of age, made a peculiar, almost modern-art impression.  I remember reading a story of an amateur treasure-hunter who found an Etruscan bronze statue (an elongated figure of a man), and, without realizing what it was, used it as a fire-poker!  A friend later recognized it as a priceless antiquity, and it is now in the Etruscan Museum in Volterra, called L’ombra della sera - The Shadow of the Night.” 

To the east of the Etruscan Temple complex, and skipping ahead about 500 years, we found the Roman-era Theatre and Baths.  I think Roman theatres and baths always are found together, combining their favorite and most social cultural activities.  The baths were more than for just bathing, they were the gathering places for discussions and gossip, for physical exercise, as well as for health and grooming.  And the theatre was for reading poetry, speeches by famous orators, watching the latest plays, or enjoying the classics.  The Theatre in Fiesole had been restored several years so that it can now be used for plays and summer concerts under the stars.  The baths are like so many other Roman baths, with swimming pool, exercise court, hot, tepid, and cold rooms.  The hot room, the caldarium, is always easy to find because it is next to the furnaces and has the raised floor held up by pillars of red brick, allowing the super-heated air to flow under the floors. 

The afternoon rain shower did not dampen our spirits, and after climbing around the ruins and the museum, we found a lovely tavern on the side of the hill overlooking Florence for a chilled white wine and margharita pizza.  We were sorry we didn’t have enough time to visit the Bandini Museum, reportedly containing a fine collection of Florentine paintings from the 12^th to the 14^th centuries and several Della Robbias.  In addition, the town’s favorite son, Giovanni da Fiesole, known as Fra Angelico, lived and worked at the nearby convent of San Domenico, where some of his artwork is on display.  We will need another day in Fiesole. 

If you would like to visit Fiesole, contact

Ufficio Informazioni Turistiche, Tourist Information

Via Portigiani, 3

5014 Fiesole, Italy

www.comune.fiesole.fi.it

www.fiesoleforyou.it