FIESOLE - ITALY HOP-ON HOP-OFF TOUR

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Fiesole - a brief history Fiesole is of Etruscan origin, as may be seen from the remains of its ancient walls, and was probably founded in the 9 C BC. One possible reason for the prosperity of Etruscan and Roman Fiesole could be its location near a ford over the Arno close to where Roman Florence (Florentia) would rise. Fiesole's location also made it strategic for travellers on all the main roads between southern and central Etruria to the south of Italy (covering large parts of present day Tuscany, Umbria and Latium) and the Etruscans in the area around the Po valley to the north of Italy. Travel Guide for Visitors to the Chianti Classico Wine Region of Tuscany, Italy. Stay in the country and save money! During your tour of the art cities of Tuscany, Italy, visit and stay in the Chianti countryside. Beautiful scenery, inexpensive food and wine, less-frequented art and architecture, authentic people. Vacation in the country near Fiesole Visiting Florence and Tuscany? Stay in the country in your own vineyard apartment or farm house for less than the price of a hotel room. And often with a swimming pool! Click here for more information. The Romans conquered Faesulae, as Fiesole was then known, in 283 BC. Under Roman rule, it became the seat of a famous school of augurs, and every year twelve young men were sent here from Rome to study the art of divination. Rome typically drew heavily on the Etruscans for priests and augurs. Sulla colonised it with veterans, who afterwards, under the leadership of Manlius, supported the cause of Catiline. Near Fiesole, the Vandals and Suevi under Radagaisus were defeated (405) by hunger rather than by the troops of Stilicho. A considerable number of interesting finds from the Etruscan period - urns, bucchero, clay and bronze statues - together with other objects from Roman times are to be found in the Museum near the archaeological zone. During the Gothic War (536-53), Fiesole was besieged several times and in 539 Justinus, the Byzantine general, captured it and razed its fortifications. In the early Middle Ages, Fiesole was more powerful than Florence in the valley below, and many wars arose between them. In 1010 and 1025 Fiesole was sacked by the Florentines, and its leading families obliged to take up their residence in Florence. Christianity was introduced to Fiesole by St. Romulus, a disciple of St. Peter. The fact that the ancient cathedral (now the Abbazia Fiesolana) stands outside the city is a evidence that the Christian origins of Fiesole date from the period of the persecutions. The earliest mention of a Bishop of Fiesole is in a letter of Gelasius I (492-496). A little later, under Vigilius (537-55), a Bishop Rusticus is mentioned as papal legate at one of the Councils of Constantinople. The legendary St. Alexander is said by some to belong to the time of the Lombard King Autari (end of the sixth century), but the Bollandists assign him to the reign of Lothair (middle of the ninth century). A very famous bishop of Fiesole was St. Donatus, an Irish monk, the friend and adviser of Emperors Louis the Pious and Lothair. He was elected in 826 and is buried in the cathedral, where his epitaph, dictated by himself, can be seen. The numerous locations and churches incorporating his name, San Donato, provide evidence of his influence and popularity throughout Tuscany. He founded the abbey of San Martino di Mensola. Bishop Zanobi in 890 founded that of St. Michael at Passignano, which was afterwards given to the Vallombrosan monks - Badia a Passignano. Other bishops were Hildebrand of Lucca (1220), exiled by the Florentines; St. Andrew Corsini (1352), born in 1302 of a noble Florentine family, and who, after a reckless youth, became a Carmelite monk, studied at Paris, and as bishop was renowned as a peacemaker between individuals and States. He died 6 January, 1373, and was canonised by Urban VIII. Other famous bishops were the Dominican Fra Jacopo Altovita (1390), noted for his zeal against schism; Antonio Aglio (1466), a learned humanist and author of a collection of lives of the saints; the Augustinian Guglielmo Bachio (1470), a celebrated preacher, and author of commentaries on Aristotle and on the "Sentences" of Peter Lombard; Francesco Cataneo Diaceto (1570), a theologian at the Council of Trent and a prolific writer; Lorenzo della Robbia (1634), who built the seminary. Among the famous natives of Fiesole is the painter Lorenzo Monaco (1370-1424). But the greatest name associated with the history of the city is that of Fra Angelico, Blessed Giovanni Angelico da Fiesole (1387-1455).