Fiesole still keeps many traces of its ancient past that can be discovered with a pleasant walk.
One of the main cities in northern Etruria since the 4th century BC, Fiesole became a Roman colony in 80 BC with the name of Faesulae. During the next three centuries the city flourished until the Barbarian invasions, with the interlude of the Lombard domination, which saw Fiesole gain political significance. Then, the gradual decline of the city started from the 5th century.
Our route begins at the Archaeological Area with the Roman Theatre, bordered north by the mighty Etruscan walls, dating back to the 4th century BC and built with huge square pietra serena blocks. This is the best preserved part of the city walls which used to encircle the city for about 2,5 km and that is still partially visible, even when arriving to Fiesole from via Beato Angelico.
After walking along the Etruscan walls, we step back in time and move to the Roman Fiesole, discovering the archaeological area of Piazza Garibaldi: a Roman insula that was placed right next to the Forum (which was located in the current Piazza Mino da Fiesole). Born on the terracings made by the Etruscans, in Roman times it was also home to a domus, of which we can still glimpse the colonnaded garden with a tank in its centre. Between the 6th and 7th century AD Fiesole hosted a Longobard settlement and several tombs, still visible today, have been found in this area.
Continuing northwards we find, unexpectedly amidst the houses, the Etruscan tombs on Via del Bargellino: dating to the Hellenistic period, they were part of the necropolis that was found outside the walls. Inside the largest tomb we can still see the stone benches where the funerary urns of the deceased were placed.
We can complete the route by getting back to Fiesole, passing through the hamlet of Borgunto to discover the east end of the Etruscan walls (on Via Mari), or continue to the Montececeri park where the quarries of pietra serena, used for the city's construction, used to be.
