Travel Reference
In-Depth Information
FIESOLE DAY TRIPPER
One of the joys of Florence is leaving it behind and Fiesole provides the perfect excuse. Perched in the
hills 9km northeast of the city, this bijou hilltop village has seduced for centuries with its cooler air,
olive groves, scattering of Renaissance-styled villas and spectacular views of the plain. Boccaccio,
Marcel Proust, Gertrude Stein and Frank Lloyd Wright, among others, raved about it.
10am
Founded in the 7th century BC by the Etruscans, Fiesole was the most important city in northern
Etruria and its
Area Archeologica
(
www.museidifiesole.it
;
Via Portigiani 1; adult/reduced Fri-Sun
€10/6, Mon-Thu €8/4, family €20; 10am-7pm summer, shorter hr rest of yr), off central square
Piazza Mino di Fiesole
, provides the perfect flashback. Buy a ticket from the tourist office a couple
of doors away then meander around the ruins of an Etruscan temple, Roman baths and archaeological
museum. Later, pause for thought on the stone steps of the 1st-century-BC Roman amphitheatre, sum-
mer stage to Italy's oldest open-air festival,
Estate Fiesolana
.
Afterwards pop into neighbouring
Museo Bandini
(
www.museidifiesole.it
;
Via Dupré; adult/re-
duced €5/3 or free with Area Archeologica ticket; 10am-7pm summer, shorter hr rest of yr) to
view early Tuscan Renaissance art, including fine medallions (c 1505-20) by Giovanni della Robbia
and Taddeo Gaddi's luminous
Annunciation
(1340-45).
Noon
From the museum, a 300m walk along Via Giovanni Dupré brings you to the
Fondazione Primo
Conti
( 055 59 70 95;
www.fondazioneprimoconti.org
; Via Giovanni Dupré 18; admission €3, with
archives €5; 9am-2pm Mon-Fri) where the eponymous avant-garde 20th-century artist lived and
worked. Inside hang more than 60 of his paintings and the views from the garden are inspiring. Ring
to enter.
1pm
Meander back to
Piazza Mino di Fiesole,
host to an antiques market on the first Sunday of each
month, where cafe and restaurant terraces tempt. The pagoda-covered terrace of
Villa Aurora
(
055 5 93 63;
www.villaurora.net
; Piazza Mino da Fiesole 39; meals €30), around since 1860, is the
classic choice for its view. For rustic Tuscan partaken at a shared table,
Vinandro
( 055 5 91 21;
www.vinandrofiesole.com
; Piazza Mino da Fiesole 33; meals €20; lunch & dinner summer) is
popular, but not a patch on
La Reggia degli Etruschi
( 055 5 93 85;
www.lareggiadeglietruschi.com
;
Via San Francesco; meals €30; lunch & dinner daily), an out-
standing dine with swoonworthy views where knowing Florentines lunch on Sunday.
3pm
Stagger around
Cattedrale di San Romolo
(Piazza Mino di Fiesole; 7.30am-noon & 3-5pm)
, begun in the 11th century. A glazed terracotta statue of San Romolo by Giovanni della Rob-
bia guards the entrance inside. Afterwards, make your way up steep walled
Via San Francesco
and be
blown away by the staggeringly beautiful panorama of Florence that unfolds from the terrace adjoin-
