Fiesole is a town and comune (township) of Firenze province in the Italian region of Tuscany, 43°49N 11°18E, on a famously scenic height 346 m (1140 ft) above Florence, 8 km (5 mi) NE of that city. Its population according to the 2003 census was 14,100.

History and Monuments

Fiesole was probably founded in the 9th-8th century BC, as it was an important member of the Etruscan confederacy, but the first recorded mention on the town dates to 283 BC when the town, then known as Faesulae, was conquered by the Romans. Fiesole fell to the Germanic hordes in AD 405 and was an independent town for several centuries afterwards, though always overshadowed by Florence, before being conquered by the Florentines in 1125. Today the town boasts remnants of Etruscan walls, Roman baths, and a Roman theater; a Romanesque church dating from 1028, and a Palazzo Comunale (Town Hall) of the 14th century. Georgetown University maintains an overseas program in Fiesole, housed at Villa le Balze.

Famous People from Fiesole

Mino da Fiesole, painter