Blogs from Fiesole, Tuscany, Italy, Europe

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Europe » Italy » Tuscany » Fiesole June 27th 2023

I'm so far behind with my blogs that this one will try to be a quick catch up (although we are now into week three!) Our location destination was Florence and so although the photos will reflect our dash down from Calais through France, Switzerland and then Italy I shall bunch all together in an effort to condense our travels. We intended to move quickly, and we did, at lightning speed, well, as fast as Gino would go, Satnav Sally admonishing us to go no faster than 50mph, and hurtled through Northern France ending our first day's journey in Champagne country. A pleasant spot for motorhomes up in the vines of a small town called Trepail which unfortunately had nothing else of note for us non-drinkers. There was no cafe, no boulangerie, no shop, just a ... read more
roses and vines
Pretty Colmar
Colmar from the river

Europe » Italy » Tuscany » Fiesole January 23rd 2020

The Archaeological Area, which covers a green surface area of approximately 3 hectares, includes the remains of a Roman theatre, an Etruscan-Roman temple and Roman baths. The presence of Etruscans in Fiesole is noted from the eighth-seventh century by a small sanctuary that was later enlarged, during the fourth century, when the city was surrounded by walls. At the start of the first century BC, when the Romans took power, they began by starting construction of a new, more monumental temple, and other buildings such as the theatre and the baths, which transformed the Etruscan city of Fiesole into a Roman city. These buildings began to decay and deteriorate from the fourth century when the city entered a grave crisis that continued during the sixth century when Fiesole was involved in the Gothic war. The Lombards ... read more

Europe » Italy » Tuscany » Fiesole January 23rd 2020

One thing I really like to do when I’m waiting for public transport is to read the names of the other stops on my bus route and find the English translation for the Italian words I don’t know. I do this before I get on the bus, and then if the journey is boring, at each stop I can imagine why it was given a certain name, so for example one stop was called ‘mille passavanti’ which in English means ‘’a thousand passages.’ Then, when the bus stopped at ‘mille passavanti’, although the place was very non-descript I could imagine a thousand different coloured passages, some going up to the sky, some on ground level, and some going down into tunnels. I did this with every stop, and I managed to turn a 30 minute dull ... read more

Europe » Italy » Tuscany » Fiesole January 23rd 2020

L’area archeologica, che si estende su una superficie verde di circa 3 ettari, comprende i resti di un teatro romano, di un tempio etrusco/ romano e delle terme romane. La presenza etrusca a Fiesole è attestata fin dall’VIII-VII secolo a.C. quando la città si recinse di poderose mura. Agli inizi del I secolo a.C. con la conquista romana, si dette il via alla costruzione di un nuovo tempio, più monumentale del precendente, di edifici, quali il teatro e le terme, che trasformarono la Fiesole etrusca in città romana. Questi edifici caddero progressivamente in rovina a partire dal IV secolo d.C quando la città entrò in una grave crisi che continuò nel corso del VI secolo d.C. con Fiesole coinvolta nella guerra greco/gotica. Alla fine del VI secolo d.C. Fiesole fu occupata dai Longobardi. ... read more
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Europe » Italy » Tuscany » Fiesole October 5th 2018

Today we go to Fiesole and San Domenico de Fiesole where Peggy went to school during her junior year abroad. Hoofed it to Piazza San Marco and took the No. 7 bus to San Domenico and walked from there to the Badia Fiesolana. It was a California University boarding and classroom center back when Peggy was here and is now European University with conferences and study programs for students from all over the world. No boarders just classes and lots of students. We made our way up to Peggy’s “cell” (it was a monastery in the Renaissance) which is now an office for administrators. It was locked so we wandered down the hall and peeked into one of the rooms where a very nice woman, Chiara, was working. She was the student coordinator for programs and ... read more
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Europe » Italy » Tuscany » Fiesole May 19th 2018

We got our money’s worth on our bus tickets today. They’re really good, working on time not distance, i.e. it doesn’t matter how many buses you go on as long as your trip is within 90 mins. So we could catch the city bus to San Marco Piazza and then the No. 7 up in the hills to Fiesole which only takes about 25 minutes. We tried to get a taxi to San Marco Piazza as it on the other side of the city to the north. But that failed. Taxis cannot be hailed as every one that goes into the city limits is ordered. We thought it would be a good test when we need taxis to go to the airport (Bev) and train station (I & J) in a fortnight when we leave. The ... read more
Picturesque countryside
Looking down on Bev a level below us
The San Francescan church

Europe » Italy » Tuscany » Fiesole October 26th 2012

Thursday Oct 25th. Took a city bus to Fiesole. Fiesole is a small town in the hills overlooking Florence. The views of the valley are really nice. Or would be on a clear day. It was smoggy today so it is hard to make out the Duomo and the hills beyond in the pictures. We had a nice long lunch and toured a few churches.... read more
Fiesole

Europe » Italy » Tuscany » Fiesole July 6th 2011

We decided to give Monaco a miss and press on to Italy, so we could have a more leisurely drive into Umbria on Thursday. The high mountain road and a traffic jam combined to give us a fine view of the principality from above. Once we crossed the border into Italy, with no stop for any passport formalities, we took to the autostrade. For several hours we passed alternately over high bridges and through tunnels in the mountains, alongside a seemingly endless procession of articulated lorries. Late in the afternoon, we left the motorway a few miles before Firenze, to look for a rural hotel, but found ourselves passing through a flat landscape of characterless villages. We resolved to venture into the city, knowing that the centre would be closed to traffic but hoping to come ... read more
Fiesole
Fiesole
Fiesole

Europe » Italy » Tuscany » Fiesole April 28th 2010

on april 25th- we hopped on a bus in st. marco's square up to fiesole. it was a beautiful bus ride up there, about 25 minutes. we arrive in the "town square" of fiesole, and head up to the museum and ruins. but before we do, becky and i go over to a nearby snack stand, and order a piedina de nutella, which turned out to be a nutella crepe. yummy!!!!!! then becky and i head down to the amphitheater and as i am marveling at it, she points over to one edge of it, and there is a small fashion photo shoot going on! there is the model in a shiny red mini dress and black pumps, a black male model (cute!) wearing brown pants and a jean jacket, and a scruffy looking photographer. it ... read more
amphitheater2
amphitheater and tower
arch hill view




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