Fiesole - a city in the archelogical digs

Fiesole has a life span the extends from before the Bronze age to the thriving artistic and historical city of today.

Not far from Florence the historical digs of Fiesole can be found. There are two excellent musems and the ruins themselves which can be visited. In the winter the hours are from 9,30 in the morning to 5 in the evening and in the summer to 7 in the evening - continuous hours with no lunch break! This is a perfect place to come and see some of the ruins left by past cultures in a relaxing and comfortable setting. You will find parking for the cars - or if you want you can catch an orange ATAF bus from Florence, look for line number 7 to Fiesole.

The so-called ”Fiesole stelae” date back as far as the late 6th century B.C. However finds from the Villanovan culture of the early iron age and the age of copper and of bronze have also been unearthed. The Etruscan settlement of Fiesole was probably the center of a zone where settlements were scattered over the hillsides which overlook the Florentine basin. Remains from this period include various stretches of the powerful city wall and the ruins of a Temple. The items in bold are indicated on the map below.

The entire floor rested on piers of bricks which drew hot air from an adjacent furnace (see photo). The walls also were interfaced with hollow terra cotta tiles on all sides to draw the heat through. Frequently the bath had a plug so the water could be emptied, maybe twice, maybe once, or not at all during the day. The pipes might either be lead or, more typically, tiles buried in the ground. Usually planted a foot or more under a very solid concrete floor, they were built to last.

A bathroom of the wealthy literally was a room with a pool of water filling up the entire floor, in essence a small swimming pool in present-day terms. The walls were lined with marble and complemented the three or four marble steps leading down to the submerged concrete floor. Both the water and the air were heated at the same time to a desired temperature, the heat regulated by using a type of damper system.