The Roman theatre and the view of Florence from the hill
Older than Florence, Fiesole was an Etruscan town on the hill that overlooks the Arno valley, then a Roman city. Only eight kilometres from the centre of Florence, reached by the number 7 bus, it has always been the Florentines' escape to cooler air and green views.
The archaeological area holds a Roman theatre of the first century BC, still used for the summer festival Estate Fiesolana, the remains of baths and an Etruscan-Roman temple, with a small museum. In the main square stands the Romanesque cathedral of San Romolo. A steep lane leads up to the convent of San Francesco, from whose terrace the view over Florence, with Brunelleschi's dome in the middle, is breathtaking.
Tip: walk back down to Florence along the old Via Vecchia Fiesolana, passing San Domenico, where Fra Angelico was a friar; it takes about an hour.
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