Fiesole, Italy
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Fiesole () is a town and ''
comune The (; plural: ) is a local administrative division of Italy, roughly equivalent to a township or municipality. It is the third-level administrative division of Italy, after regions ('' regioni'') and provinces (''province''). The can also ...
'' of the
Metropolitan City of Florence The Metropolitan City of Florence ( it, Città Metropolitana di Firenze) is an administrative division called metropolitan city in the Tuscany region, Italy. Its capital is the city of Florence. It replaced the Province of Florence. It was first c ...
in the Italian region of
Tuscany Tuscany ( ; it, Toscana ) is a Regions of Italy, region in central Italy with an area of about and a population of about 3.8 million inhabitants. The regional capital is Florence (''Firenze''). Tuscany is known for its landscapes, history, art ...
, on a scenic height above
Florence Florence ( ; it, Firenze ) is a city in Central Italy and the capital city of the Tuscany region. It is the most populated city in Tuscany, with 383,083 inhabitants in 2016, and over 1,520,000 in its metropolitan area.Bilancio demografico an ...
, 5 km (3 miles) northeast of that city. It has structures dating to Etruscan and Roman times. Since the fourteenth century, the city has always been considered a getaway for members of the upper class of Florence and, up to this day, Fiesole remains noted for its very expensive residential properties, just as well as its centuries-old villas and their formal gardens. The city is generally considered to be the wealthiest and most affluent suburb of Florence. In 2016, the city had the highest median family income in the whole of Tuscany. Fiesole is a centre of higher education. The campus of the
European University Institute The European University Institute (EUI) is an international postgraduate and post-doctoral teaching and research institute and an independent body of the European Union with juridical personality, established by the member states to contribu ...
is situated in the suburb and uses several historical buildings including the Badia Faesolina and the Villa Schifanoia. Additionally, the American universities,
Harvard Harvard University is a private Ivy League research university in Cambridge, Massachusetts. Founded in 1636 as Harvard College and named for its first benefactor, the Puritan clergyman John Harvard, it is the oldest institution of higher le ...
, Georgetown, and Saint Mary's of Minnesota all maintain campuses at Fiesole.


History

Fiesole (
Etruscan __NOTOC__ Etruscan may refer to: Ancient civilization *The Etruscan language, an extinct language in ancient Italy *Something derived from or related to the Etruscan civilization **Etruscan architecture **Etruscan art **Etruscan cities **Etruscan ...
Viesul, Viśl, Vipsul) was probably founded sometime during the ninth century BC, as it was an important member of the
Etruscan __NOTOC__ Etruscan may refer to: Ancient civilization *The Etruscan language, an extinct language in ancient Italy *Something derived from or related to the Etruscan civilization **Etruscan architecture **Etruscan art **Etruscan cities **Etruscan ...
confederacy. The remains of its prehistoric walls and ancient structures have been preserved and an archaeological museum in the town presents artifacts from and information about these cultural periods. The earliest known recorded mention of the town dates to 283 BC, when the Etruscan town, then known as Faesulae, was conquered by the Romans. In Roman antiquity, it was the seat of a famous school of augurs and, every year, twelve young men were sent there from Rome to study the art of divination.
Sulla Lucius Cornelius Sulla Felix (; 138–78 BC), commonly known as Sulla, was a Roman general and statesman. He won the first large-scale civil war in Roman history and became the first man of the Republic to seize power through force. Sulla had ...
colonized it with veterans, who afterward, under the leadership of Gaius Mallius, supported the cause of
Catilina Lucius Sergius Catilina ( 108 BC – January 62 BC), known in English as Catiline (), was a Roman politician and soldier. He is best known for instigating the Catilinarian conspiracy, a failed attempt to violently seize control of the R ...
. The Roman theatre, below the cathedral to the northeast, has 19 tiers of stone seats and is in diameter. It has been restored partially enough to provide a good idea of its structure. Above it is an embanking wall of irregular masonry, and below it some remains of Roman baths, including five parallel vaults of concrete. More than 1,000 silver
denarii The denarius (, dēnāriī ) was the standard Roman silver coin from its introduction in the Second Punic War to the reign of Gordian III (AD 238–244), when it was gradually replaced by the antoninianus. It continued to be minted in very sm ...
, all coined before 63 BC, were found at Faesulae in 1829. A small museum contains the objects found in the excavations of the theatre. Fiesole was the scene of Stilicho's great victory over the Germanic hordes of the
Vandals The Vandals were a Germanic peoples, Germanic people who first inhabited what is now southern Poland. They established Vandal Kingdom, Vandal kingdoms on the Iberian Peninsula, Mediterranean islands, and North Africa in the fifth century. The ...
and
Suebi The Suebi (or Suebians, also spelled Suevi, Suavi) were a large group of Germanic peoples originally from the Elbe river region in what is now Germany and the Czech Republic. In the early Roman era they included many peoples with their own names ...
under
Radagaisus Radagaisus (died 23 August 406) was a Gothic king who led an invasion of Roman Italy in late 405 and the first half of 406.Peter Heather, ''The Fall of the Roman Empire: A New History of Rome and the Barbarians'', 2nd ed. 2006:194; A committed Pa ...
in 406. During the
Gothic War Gothic War may refer to: *Gothic War (248–253), battles and plundering carried out by the Goths and their allies in the Roman Empire. *Gothic War (367–369), a war of Thervingi against the Eastern Roman Empire in which the Goths retreated to Mont ...
(536–553), the town was besieged several times. In 539, Justin, the Byzantine general, captured it and razed its fortifications. It was an independent town for several centuries in the early Middle Ages, no less powerful than Florence in the valley below, and many wars arose between them. In 1010 and 1025, Fiesole was sacked by the Florentines. Later, it was conquered by Florence in 1125, when its leading families were obliged to take up their residence in Florence, which still holds true today. Dante reflects this rivalry in his ''Divine Comedy'' by referring to "the beasts of Fiesole" (Inferno XV.73). By the fourteenth century, rich Florentines had countryside villas in Fiesole, and one of them is the setting of the
frame narrative A frame is often a structural system that supports other components of a physical construction and/or steel frame that limits the construction's extent. Frame and FRAME may also refer to: Physical objects In building construction *Framing (con ...
of the
Decameron ''The Decameron'' (; it, label=Italian, Decameron or ''Decamerone'' ), subtitled ''Prince Galehaut'' (Old it, Prencipe Galeotto, links=no ) and sometimes nicknamed ''l'Umana commedia'' ("the Human comedy", as it was Boccaccio that dubbed Dan ...
. Boccaccio's poem ''Il Ninfale fiesolano'' is a mythological account of the origins of the community. It is also documented that the artist and scientist
Leonardo da Vinci Leonardo di ser Piero da Vinci (15 April 14522 May 1519) was an Italian polymath of the High Renaissance who was active as a painter, Drawing, draughtsman, engineer, scientist, theorist, sculptor, and architect. While his fame initially res ...
experimented for the first time with early flying models on the hills of Fiesoles.


Main sites

*Remnants of
Etruscan __NOTOC__ Etruscan may refer to: Ancient civilization *The Etruscan language, an extinct language in ancient Italy *Something derived from or related to the Etruscan civilization **Etruscan architecture **Etruscan art **Etruscan cities **Etruscan ...
walls *Roman baths *Roman theatre *''Palazzo Comunale'' (Town Hall) of the fourteenth century *The Cathedral of Fiesole (Il Duomo) that contains the shrine of St. Romulus, martyr, according to legend the first
Bishop of Fiesole The Diocese of Fiesole ( la, Dioecesis Fesulana) is a Roman Catholic diocese in Tuscany, central Italy, whose episcopal see is the city of Fiesole. Fiesole was directly subject to the pope until 1420, when the archdiocese of Florence was created a ...
, and that of his martyred companions; the shrine of
St. Donatus of Fiesole Donatus of Fiesole (died 876) was an Irish teacher and poet, and Bishop of Fiesole. Biography Donatus was born in Ireland to noble parents towards the end of the eighth century. Despite there being little biographical detail in the tenth/ele ...
; and its altarpiece by
Pietro Perugino Pietro Perugino (, ; – 1523), born Pietro Vannucci, was an Italian Renaissance Painting, painter of the Umbrian school, who developed some of the qualities that found classic expression in the High Renaissance. Raphael was his most famous pup ...
*The ''Badia'' or ancient cathedral of St. Romulus, built in 1028 by Bishop Jacopo Bavaro with materials taken from several older edifices at the foot of the hill on which Fiesole stands and were supposed to cover the site of the martyrdom of St. Romulus. It contains notable sculptures by Mino da Fiesole; the old cathedral became a
Benedictine , image = Medalla San Benito.PNG , caption = Design on the obverse side of the Saint Benedict Medal , abbreviation = OSB , formation = , motto = (English: 'Pray and Work') , foun ...
abbey that passed into the hands of the Canons Regular of the Lateran. It once possessed a valuable library, long since dispersed. The abbey was closed in 1778 *The room in the Episcopal Palace where
Carmelite , image = , caption = Coat of arms of the Carmelites , abbreviation = OCarm , formation = Late 12th century , founder = Early hermits of Mount Carmel , founding_location = Mount Car ...
bishop St. Andrew Corsini lived and died *The little Church of Santa Maria Primerana in the cathedral square, where the same saint was warned by Our Lady of his approaching death. Built in 996 and further expanded in medieval times, it has maintained the Gothic presbytery from that period. It received a new façade in the late sixteenth century, with graffito decoration by
Ludovico Buti Ludovico Buti (c. 1560 - after 1611) was an Italian painter, active mostly in Florence. Belonging to the late-Mannerist period, he worked along with more famous figures as Alessandro Allori, Bernardino Poccetti or Santi di Tito on large projec ...
. The interior, on a single hall, has a thirteenth-century panel portraying ''Madonna with Child''. In the transept are two marble bas-reliefs by
Francesco da Sangallo Francesco da Sangallo (1494–1576) was an Italian Renaissance sculptor, the son of the architect and sculptor Giuliano da Sangallo. Sangallo was born in Florence. His father took him at the age of ten to Rome where, in 1506, he was present at ...
and a terracotta from Andrea della Robbia's workshop. *The Church of S. Alessandro, with the shrine of St. Alexander, bishop and martyr *The Monastery of San Francesco on the crest of the hill, with the cells of St.
Bernardine of Siena Bernardino of Siena, OFM (8 September 138020 May 1444), also known as Bernardine, was an Italian priest and Franciscan missionary preacher in Italy. He was a systematizer of Scholastic economics. His preaching, his book burnings, and his " bon ...
and seven Franciscan Beati *
Church of San Girolamo The Villa San Girolamo, sometimes known as the Church of San Girolamo, is building complex that includes a villa, olive grove, and former Catholic monastery and church located on Via Vecchia Fiesolana in Fiesole, Tuscany. History Built in the ...
, the home of Venerable Carlo dei Conti Guidi, founder of the Hieronymites of Fiesole (1360) *'' San Domenico'', the novice-home of Fra Angelico and of St. Antoninus of Florence *Fontanelle, a villa near S. Domenico, where
St. Aloysius Aloysius de Gonzaga ( it, Luigi Gonzaga; 9 March 156821 June 1591) was an Italian aristocrat who became a member of the Society of Jesus. While still a student at the Roman College, he died as a result of caring for the victims of a serious epid ...
came to live in the hot summer months, while a page at the court of Grand Duke Francesco de' Medici *Villa I Tatti, a campus of
Harvard University Harvard University is a private Ivy League research university in Cambridge, Massachusetts. Founded in 1636 as Harvard College and named for its first benefactor, the Puritan clergyman John Harvard, it is the oldest institution of higher le ...
* Villa Medici *
Villa Le Balze Villa Le Balze is a garden villa in Fiesole, a ''comune'' of the Metropolitan City of Florence and the region of Tuscany in central Italy. The villa was commissioned and built by Charles Augusts Strong in 1913, where he spent much of his life. I ...
, a campus of
Georgetown University Georgetown University is a private university, private research university in the Georgetown (Washington, D.C.), Georgetown neighborhood of Washington, D.C. Founded by Bishop John Carroll (archbishop of Baltimore), John Carroll in 1789 as Georg ...
* Villa Palmieri * Villa Schifanoia *Villa Sparta, former residence in exile of the Greek royal family * Fonte Lucente, where a crucifix is greatly revered as miraculous * Castello di Vincigliata *
Episcopal Seminary of Fiesole The Episcopal Seminary of Fiesole () is a former Roman Catholic seminary in Fiesole, Italy. Founded in the 17th century, the seminary was run by the Diocese of Fiesole until it was closed in 1970. Today, the seminary retains several pieces of his ...
In the neighborhood are: *
Monte Senario Monte Senario is a Servite monastery in the comune of Vaglia, near Florence in Tuscany, in central Italy. It stands on the mountain of the same name, on the watershed between the Valdarno to the south and the Mugello The Mugello is a histo ...
, the cradle of the Servite Order, where its seven holy founders lived in austerity *''S. Martino di Mensola'', with the body of St. Andrew, an Irish saint, still incorrupt *
Monte Ceceri Monte Ceceri is a hill near Fiesole, Tuscany. It is part of a nature reserve to the northeast of the city of Florence, within the Metropolitan City of Florence. History Monte Ceceri was named for the swans that would once frequent the area, ...
and the monument to Leonardo da Vinci's attempted flight


Notable residents

* Angelo Maria Bandini, Italian author * Bernard Berenson, American art historian * Giovanni Bocaccio, Renaissance humanist *
Arnold Böcklin Arnold Böcklin (16 October 182716 January 1901) was a Swiss symbolist painter. Biography He was born in Basel. His father, Christian Frederick Böcklin (b. 1802), was descended from an old family of Schaffhausen, and engaged in the silk tra ...
, Swiss painter * St. Andrew Corsini, a Florentine
Carmelite , image = , caption = Coat of arms of the Carmelites , abbreviation = OCarm , formation = Late 12th century , founder = Early hermits of Mount Carmel , founding_location = Mount Car ...
friar A friar is a member of one of the mendicant orders founded in the twelfth or thirteenth century; the term distinguishes the mendicants' itinerant apostolic character, exercised broadly under the jurisdiction of a superior general, from the ol ...
(1302–January 6, 1373), Bishop of Fiesole *
Alexandre Dumas Alexandre Dumas (, ; ; born Dumas Davy de la Pailleterie (), 24 July 1802 – 5 December 1870), also known as Alexandre Dumas père (where '' '' is French for 'father', to distinguish him from his son Alexandre Dumas fils), was a French writer ...
, French writer * Bridget of Fiesole, ninth-century Irish nun *
Mino da Fiesole Mino da Fiesole (c. 1429 – July 11, 1484), also known as Mino di Giovanni, was an Italian Renaissance sculptor from Poppi, Tuscany. He is noted for his portrait busts. Career Mino's work was influenced by his master Desiderio da Settignano and ...
, Florentine sculptor (c.1429—1484) and painter *
Helen of Greece and Denmark Helen of Greece and Denmark ( el, Ελένη, ''Eleni''; ; 2 May 1896 – 28 November 1982) was the queen mother of Romania during the reign of her son King Michael I (1940–1947). She was noted for her humanitarian efforts to save Romanian Je ...
, queen mother of Romania (was awarded the honorary title of Righteous Among the Nations in 1993 for her humanitarian efforts to save the Jews of Romania) *
Hermann Hesse Hermann Karl Hesse (; 2 July 1877 – 9 August 1962) was a German-Swiss poet, novelist, and painter. His best-known works include ''Demian'', ''Steppenwolf (novel), Steppenwolf'', ''Siddhartha (novel), Siddhartha'', and ''The Glass Bead Game'', ...
, German-Swiss writer, featured the city in his well-known novel
Peter Camenzind ''Peter Camenzind'', published in 1904, was the first novel by Hermann Hesse. It contains a number of themes that were to preoccupy the author in many of his later works, most notably the individual's search for a unique spiritual and physical ide ...
*
Paul of Greece Paul ( el, Παύλος, ''Pávlos''; 14 December 1901 – 6 March 1964) was King of Greece from 1 April 1947 until his death in 1964. He was succeeded by his son, Constantine II. Paul was first cousin to Prince Philip, Duke of Edinburgh and ...
,
King of Greece The Kingdom of Greece was ruled by the House of Wittelsbach between 1832 and 1862 and by the House of Glücksburg from 1863 to 1924, temporarily abolished during the Second Hellenic Republic, and from 1935 to 1973, when it was once more abolishe ...
*
Paul Klee Paul Klee (; 18 December 1879 – 29 June 1940) was a Swiss-born German artist. His highly individual style was influenced by movements in art that included expressionism, cubism, and surrealism. Klee was a natural draftsman who experimented wi ...
, German painter * Francesco Landini (c.1325–1397), composer, singer, poet, organist, and instrument maker * Elisabeth Mann-Borgese, German writer *
Lorenzo Monaco Lorenzo Monaco (1370 – 1425) was an Italian painter of the late Gothic to early Renaissance age. He was born Piero di Giovanni in Siena, Italy. Little is known about his youth, apart from the fact that he was apprenticed in Florence. He was inf ...
(1370–1424), painter *
Marcel Proust Valentin Louis Georges Eugène Marcel Proust (; ; 10 July 1871 – 18 November 1922) was a French novelist, critic, and essayist who wrote the monumental novel ''In Search of Lost Time'' (''À la recherche du temps perdu''; with the previous Eng ...
, French writer *
Andrew the Scot Andrew the Scot (also known as Andrew of Tuscany and Andrew of Fiesole) was the Irish-born student and assistant of St. Donatus. He served as archdeacon of Fiesole under Bishop Donatus. Life Andrew the Scot was born in Ireland near the beginni ...
, ninth-century Irish archdeacon * Gertrude Stein and
Alice B. Toklas Alice Babette Toklas (April 30, 1877 – March 7, 1967) was an American-born member of the Parisian avant-garde of the early 20th century, and the life partner of American writer Gertrude Stein. Early life Alice B. Toklas was born in San F ...
spent their summers in Fiesole before the
First World War World War I (28 July 1914 11 November 1918), often abbreviated as WWI, was one of the deadliest global conflicts in history. Belligerents included much of Europe, the Russian Empire, the United States, and the Ottoman Empire, with fightin ...
*
Roger Verity Ruggero Verity or Roger Verity (20 May 1883 – 4 March 1959) was an Anglo-Italian entomologist who specialised in butterflies and a physician. Life Roger Verity was born in Florence on 20 May 1883, the elder son of Richard Henry Manners Verity ...
Anglo-Italian entomologist *
Frank Lloyd Wright Frank Lloyd Wright (June 8, 1867 – April 9, 1959) was an American architect, designer, writer, and educator. He designed more than 1,000 structures over a creative period of 70 years. Wright played a key role in the architectural movements o ...
, American architect *
Miloš Crnjanski Miloš Crnjanski ( sr-cyr, Милош Црњански, ; 26 October 1893 – 30 November 1977) was a Serbian writer and poet of the expressionist wing of Serbian modernism, author, and a diplomat. Biography Crnjanski was born in Csongrád (mode ...
, Serbian writer and poet who wrote his 1973 poem ''Stražilovo'' in Fiesole


In literature

The
Decameron ''The Decameron'' (; it, label=Italian, Decameron or ''Decamerone'' ), subtitled ''Prince Galehaut'' (Old it, Prencipe Galeotto, links=no ) and sometimes nicknamed ''l'Umana commedia'' ("the Human comedy", as it was Boccaccio that dubbed Dan ...
by
Giovanni Boccaccio Giovanni Boccaccio (, , ; 16 June 1313 – 21 December 1375) was an Italian writer, poet, correspondent of Petrarch, and an important Renaissance humanist. Born in the town of Certaldo, he became so well known as a writer that he was somet ...
is set in the slopes of Fiesole. The city was featured equally in the novels
Peter Camenzind ''Peter Camenzind'', published in 1904, was the first novel by Hermann Hesse. It contains a number of themes that were to preoccupy the author in many of his later works, most notably the individual's search for a unique spiritual and physical ide ...
(1904) by
Hermann Hesse Hermann Karl Hesse (; 2 July 1877 – 9 August 1962) was a German-Swiss poet, novelist, and painter. His best-known works include ''Demian'', ''Steppenwolf (novel), Steppenwolf'', ''Siddhartha (novel), Siddhartha'', and ''The Glass Bead Game'', ...
,
A Room with a View ''A Room with a View'' is a 1908 novel by English writer E. M. Forster, about a young woman in the restrained culture of Edwardian era England. Set in Italy and England, the story is both a romance and a humorous critique of English society a ...
(1908) by E. M. Forster, and in the book of travel essays
Italian Hours ''Italian Hours'' is a book of travel writing by Henry James published in 1909. The book collected essays that James had written over nearly forty years about a country he knew and loved well. James extensively revised and sometimes expanded the ...
(1909) by
Henry James Henry James ( – ) was an American-British author. He is regarded as a key transitional figure between literary realism and literary modernism, and is considered by many to be among the greatest novelists in the English language. He was the ...
.


In contemporary art

* Wall
mural A mural is any piece of graphic artwork that is painted or applied directly to a wall, ceiling or other permanent substrate. Mural techniques include fresco, mosaic, graffiti and marouflage. Word mural in art The word ''mural'' is a Spani ...
in
Grossi Florentino Grossi Florentino is one of Melbourne’s oldest restaurants. The upstairs Mural Room has been a fine-dining institution since the 1930s. History Florentino started out as a wine shop at 78 Bourke Street, bought by recent immigrant Samuel W ...
, executed by students of
Napier Waller Mervyn Napier Waller CMG OBE (19 June 189330 March 1972) was a noted Australian muralist, mosaicist and painter in stained glass and other media. He is perhaps best known for the mosaics and stained glass for the Hall of Memory at the Aus ...
under supervision


See also

*
Diocese of Fiesole The Diocese of Fiesole ( la, Dioecesis Fesulana) is a Roman Catholic diocese in Tuscany, central Italy, whose episcopal see is the city of Fiesole. Fiesole was directly subject to the pope until 1420, when the archdiocese of Florence was created a ...


Notes


References

* Mauro Marrani, ''Il contado fiesolano''. Grafica European Center of Fine Arts, Firenze 2010. *


External links

*
Official siteSatellite image from Google Maps
{{authority control Cities and towns in Tuscany Etruscan sites Roman sites of Tuscany