Fiesole is the town that rises on the hill just behind Florence. It is only 2 km from the main city, and thanks to its elevated position and the short distance to the Tuscan capital, it boasts an incomparable view of the city of lilies.

The city of Fiesole centers around Piazza Mino da Fiesole, the focal point of the municipality: from Piazza Mino, it extends over a vast territory consisting not only of monuments and historic villas but also of nature trails and historic villages such as Maiano and Vincigliata.

The great attraction of the Fiesole area partly stems from the charm of the routes through woods and hills, and partly from the density of monuments and relics of its ancient past. The history of Fiesole has roots in its past as an Etruscan lucumonia; it later became a thriving Roman colony, and it is from this settlement that the city of Florentia seems to have originated: for this reason, Fiesole is considered the “mother” of the city of Florence.

The appeal of Fiesole has never waned over the centuries, as evidenced by both the historic medieval buildings and the nobleman villas erected on the hill of Fiesole up to the entire 20th century.

Today, Fiesole is a destination for tourists seeking intense cultural experiences among monuments, villas, and museums, as well as thousands of people who wish to enjoy the view of the city, which is one of the most photographed in the world.

Places to visit in Fiesole: Archaeological area with the museum and Roman theater and Etruscan walls, Cathedral of San Romolo, Basilica of San Alessandro, Chapel of San Jacopo, Fiesolan Abbey, Monte Ceceri, Maiano Quarries, Villa Peyron.

Discover some adventure parks nearby.

Adventure Parks:

• Tree Experience: Vincigliata Adventure Park: Via Vincigliata 21 – 50014 Fiesole (FI) – Tel. 0553984036

• Adventure Park: The Giant – Via Fiorentina 276 – 50036 Vaglia (locality Pratolino) (FI) – Tel. 320 3261243. Pinocchio Park (Collodi): Live a fairy tale for a day: a park of art, architecture, and play for a great book to rediscover together, adults and children from all countries. Via di S. Gennaro 3 I – 51012 Collodi (PT) – Tel. 0572 429342

• Pistoia Zoo: Via Pieve a Celle 160a – 51100 Pistoia – Tel. 0573 911219

• Prehistoric Park: life-size dinosaur reconstructions await to offer you a pleasant walk and a fascinating journey back in time, an opportunity for families to spend a carefree day amidst nature and prehistory. Via dei Cappuccini 70/72 – 56037 Peccioli (PI)

In Florence, there is a unique and lesser-known but highly culturally significant tour: the Cenacoli, filled with frescoes and monumental panels on the theme of the Last Supper.

The artworks are housed in the locations for which they were originally conceived and commissioned between the 14th and 16th centuries.

An itinerary that begins with Taddeo Gaddi in Santa Croce around 1340 and continues with Orcagna, Andrea del Castagno, Ghirlandaio, Perugino, Franciabigio, culminating in the High Renaissance with Andrea del Sarto and Alessandro Allori, concluding the journey with the cenacolo of Carmine (1582).

CENACOLO DI SAN SALVI

In the ancient refectory of the Vallombrosan abbey on the outskirts of Florence, Andrea del Sarto painted the realistic Last Supper in fresco, his most spectacular masterpiece, one of the most beautiful paintings in the world (begun in 1519 and finished in 1527).

CENACOLO DELLA CALZA

The convent where Franciabigio frescoed the entire back wall with the Last Supper (1514) was called S. Giovanni alla Porta di San Pier Gattolino, later taking its current name from the cap of the Ingesuati monks.

CENACOLO DI FOLIGNO
The Cenacolo of Foligno: in the refectory of the former convent of the Franciscan Third Order Sisters of S. Onofrio, known as Fuligno, Perugino painted the Last Supper (circa 1495) characterized by the brilliant Umbrian backdrop, while the figures appear school-like.

CENACOLO DI SAN MARCO
The fresco by Domenico Ghirlandaio depicting the Last Supper (circa 1482) decorates the small refectory of the Dominican convent of San Marco.

CENACOLO DI OGNISSANTI
On the head wall of the great refectory of the Ognissanti convent is depicted the Last Supper by Domenico Ghirlandaio (1480), and the sinopia of the fresco is also visible.

CENACOLO DI S. CROCE
The Last Supper by Taddeo Gaddi (circa 1340) with the Tree of the Cross and other scenes above it, a fresco. Formerly attributed to Giotto, it is perhaps the first great depiction of the 'Supper' in Florence.

CENACOLO DI SANTO SPIRITO
Fragment of the Last Supper (beneath the scene of the Crucifixion) by Andrea Orcagna (circa 1370), fresco.

CENACOLO DI SANTA APOLLONIA
The Last Supper (before 1450), overshadowed by the Crucifixion, Deposition, and Resurrection, is the fresco masterpiece of Andrea Del Castagno.

From the terrace of Piazzale Michelangelo and the Church of San Miniato al Monte, you can admire Florence, an open-air museum.

The city is crossed by the Arno River and lined by the lungarni, connected by unique bridges, including the romantic Ponte Vecchio.

Stroll through the streets of the historic center where you will encounter artistic treasures housed in palaces, museums, and churches, and discover treasures such as the Cathedral of Santa Maria del Fiore, the Baptistery, the Uffizi Gallery, the Bargello, and the Accademia Gallery.

Don't miss the Churches of Santa Maria Novella and Santa Croce, magnificent church-museums rich in works of art, Palazzo Pitti with its museums, and the Boboli Gardens.

A unique place to experience: the Oltrarno. A characteristic district rooted in Florentine tradition: artisan workshops, typical trattorias, and good wine.

Piazza del Duomo

• The Cathedral of Santa Maria del Fiore, begun by Arnolfo di Cambio in 1296 and crowned by Filippo Brunelleschi only in 1436, is the third largest church in the world. It was dedicated to Santa Maria del Fiore, alluding to the lily, the symbol of the city.

• The Crypt of Santa Reparata was brought to light between 1965 and 1973 with a significant excavation campaign undertaken beneath the Cathedral of Santa Maria del Fiore.

• The Dome, from which you can enjoy a fantastic panorama over the city as well as the interior of the Cathedral, is a masterpiece capable of resisting lightning, earthquakes, and the passage of centuries. Anecdote: Michelangelo, in jest toward one of his “colleagues,” criticized the decoration of the octagonal drum of the dome as a “crickets’ cage.” The master builder Baccio D’Agnolo felt offended and left the drum unfinished as you see it today.

• Giotto's Bell Tower, soaring in its chromatic play, offers another panoramic point of the city. It is clad in white, red, and green marbles similar to those adorning the Cathedral. It was started by Giotto in 1334, continued by Andrea Pisano, and completed by Francesco Talenti. It is the most eloquent testimony to Florentine Gothic architecture of the 1300s.

• The Baptistery of San Giovanni is dedicated to Saint John the Baptist, the city's patron saint. It is one of the oldest churches in Florence, located in front of the Cathedral of Santa Maria del Fiore. The octagonal Baptistery is entirely clad in slabs of white and green marble from Prato and embellished with three beautiful bronze doors: the oldest is the South Door made by Andrea Pisano showing episodes from the life of the Baptist and the Christian virtues; the North Door represents scenes from the New Testament, the Evangelists, and the four Fathers of the Church; the Gates of Paradise, a Renaissance masterpiece by Ghiberti.

• Museum of the Opera of Santa Maria del Fiore: it is, after the Vatican Museums, the world's largest collection of sacred art, with masterpieces by Donatello, Lorenzo Ghiberti, Luca della Robbia, Antonio Pollaiuolo, and Michelangelo. It gathers statues and paintings made for the Baptistery, Bell Tower, and Cathedral of Florence.

PIAZZA DELLA SIGNORIA

• The Palazzo della Signoria or Palazzo Vecchio was built at the end of the 1200s. In the inner courtyard, it is possible to admire the fountain with Verrocchio's cherub and the frescoes of Vasari. For over 7 centuries, the Palazzo della Signoria has been a symbol of the civil power of the city of Florence. It is the seat of the City Hall and a museum: you can visit Michelozzo's Courtyard, the Hall of the Five Hundred, Eleanor's Chapel, the Audience Hall, and the Hall of the Lilies, where the original Judith by Donatello is located. In the Hall of Geographical Maps, there is an exceptionally large globe.

• The Tower of Palazzo Vecchio or Arnolfo's Tower, attributed to Arnolfo di Cambio and flanked by the crenellated Walkway, is the completion of the first nucleus of the government palace, built between the thirteenth and fourteenth centuries. Arnolfo's Tower, with its 95 meters of height, soars above the city, constituting one of its unmistakable symbols and landmarks.

• Loggia dei Lanzi, built between 1376 and 1382, exhibits famous statues such as Cellini's Perseus and Giambologna's Rape of the Sabine Women.

• Neptune Fountain, made by Ammannati between 1560 and 1565 with precious Carrara marble, renamed “Il Biancone” by the Florentines.

UFFIZI

• Designed by Giorgio Vasari between 1560 and 1580 by commission of Grand Duke Cosimo I de’ Medici as a bureaucratic seat for the various magistracies gathered in one place. The Uffizi Gallery houses one of the most significant collections of paintings from the 1300s to the Renaissance, including Leonardo's Adoration of the Magi, Michelangelo's Doni Tondo, Botticelli's Primavera and Venus, Caravaggio's Bacchus, Piero della Francesca's Portraits of the Dukes of Urbino, Raphael's Madonna del Cardellino.

PONTE VECCHIO

• The Ponte Vecchio, a symbol of the city, was destroyed several times by the floods of the Arno and rebuilt to its current three-arch structure in 1345, the work of Taddeo Gaddi or Neri di Fioravante. In 1442, it became the butcher’s market. The butchers became the owners of the shops and added rooms jutting out over the river, supporting them with wooden poles.
  Ferdinando I used to walk the Vasari Corridor daily and could not stand the unpleasant smells from the shops, so in 1593, he had goldsmiths and jewelers moved in place of the butchers.
  It is the only bridge in the city that was not destroyed during World War II.

VASARI CORRIDOR

• It is an elevated path over a kilometer long that connects Palazzo Vecchio to Palazzo Pitti, passing through the Uffizi Gallery and over the Ponte Vecchio. It was created by Giorgio Vasari upon commission by Grand Duke Cosimo I in 1565 on the occasion of his son Francesco's marriage to Giovanna of Austria. The corridor was designed to allow the Grand Dukes to move safely and unnoticed from the private residence to the government palace.

PIAZZA PITTI

• It is dominated by the facade of the majestic Palazzo Pitti of 15th-century origin, named after its first owner, Luca Pitti, a Florentine banker. Subsequently purchased by Cosimo I de’ Medici, it later became the royal palace of the Habsburg-Lorraine and Savoy dynasties. It houses numerous museums (including the Treasury of the Grand Dukes, the Palatine Gallery, the Royal Apartments, the Gallery of Modern Art, and the Museum of Fashion and Costume) and is enriched by a wonderful park, the Boboli Gardens, one of the greatest examples of an Italian garden. Inside, among various works, you can admire the Roman amphitheater with the Egyptian obelisk in the center, the Buontalenti Grotto, large fountains like that of Neptune and the Ocean, and the limonaia.

PIAZZA SANTA MARIA NOVELLA

• The large square houses the Basilica of Santa Maria Novella. The elegant facade in white and green marble is in typical Renaissance style. Inside are extraordinary masterpieces, including Masaccio's Trinity, Ghirlandaio’s frescoes in the Tornabuoni Chapel, Giotto's Crucifix, and Brunelleschi's Crucifix.

PIAZZA DI SAN LORENZO

• The Basilica of San Lorenzo is the first Florentine cathedral, consecrated by Saint Ambrose in 393 AD and rebuilt by Filippo Brunelleschi in the 1400s. Michelangelo's design for the facade was never realized and remains unfinished today. Inside: the Cloisters, the Treasure of San Lorenzo, the underground vaults, the chapter archive, and the Old Sacristy.

• The Medici Chapels, burial place of many Medici family members, include Michelangelo's New Sacristy and the Chapel of the Princes. In the New Sacristy, note Giuliano's tomb resting under the sculptures of Day and Night, and Lorenzo's tomb resting under the sculptures of Dawn and Dusk, both made by Michelangelo.

• The Laurentian Medici Library, designed by Michelangelo and completed by Vasari and Ammannati, was wanted by the Medici family to preserve their treasury of parchments, manuscripts, and volumes.

PIAZZA SANTA CROCE

• The Basilica of Santa Croce, in Gothic style, is one of the largest Franciscan churches. It houses an immense artistic heritage: frescoes by Gaddi and Giotto, the burial place of great and powerful figures of Florence, including Michelangelo Buonarroti, Galileo Galilei, Niccolò Machiavelli, Vittorio Alfieri, Ugo Foscolo, Gioacchino Rossini, and also hosts the commemorative monument to Dante (buried in Ravenna after his exile from Florence).
  The Museum of the Opera di Santa Croce is located within the ancient refectory and the wing of the convent that divides the two cloisters. It hosts numerous works including the crucifix by Cimabue, a symbol of the 1966 Florence flood. CHURCH OF ORSANMICHELE
  In 1290 Arnolfo di Cambio erected a loggia for grain trade commissioned by the commune in place of the church. After the 1304 fire, it was rebuilt even larger, and the old building was raised by two floors. In 1380, the loggia was enclosed and transformed back into a church retaining its original, unusual shape for a religious building.

FONTANA DEL PORCELLINO

• The Fontana del Porcellino (although it is actually a boar), created by Pietro Tacca in 1633, is situated to one side of the Loggia del Mercato Nuovo. Popular tradition claims that touching the boar’s snout brings good luck and if a coin is placed in the animal’s mouth and slips through the grate, the wish will come true.

PARCO DELLE CASCINE

• The Parco delle Cascine is the largest public park in the city. It is characterized by rich vegetation, large lawns, avenues, and is the ideal place for leisure time. “Le Cascine” is also a market place (every Tuesday morning) and a venue for musical (Arena del Visarno), cultural, and trade events. On the edge of the park, you will find the new municipal theater “Opera di Firenze.”

FORTEZZA DA BASSO

• A work of Renaissance fortification built between 1534 and 1537, designed by Antonio da Sangallo the Younger, commissioned by Alessandro de’ Medici. Since 1967, it has been the exhibition and congress center of Florence.

PIAZZA SAN MARCO

• The Church of San Marco was part of the namesake Convent, the intellectual center of the city. In this Church, some of the most important representatives of 15th-century spirituality and culture worked and lived, such as Fra Angelico, a Dominican friar and early Renaissance artist, Fra Bartolomeo, and Girolamo Savonarola.
  The Museum of San Marco includes the architectural spaces of the convent, the Cloister of Sant’Antonio, the Cenacolo of Ghirlandaio, the Refectory, and the Chapter Room. It is rich in Renaissance frescoes by Fra Angelico, including the 1440 Annunciation.

GALLERIA DELL’ACCADEMIA

• The Galleria dell’Accademia has housed Michelangelo's famous David since 1873 along with other of his renowned sculptures such as the Prisoners and St. Matthew. Also in the museum are Giambologna's Rape of the Sabine Women, Botticelli's Madonna and Child and Madonna del Mare, and some works by Perugino, Filippino Lippi, Pontormo, and Bronzino. The Gallery hosts the museum of musical instruments, where you can see a violin owned by Stradivari and the oldest upright piano.

PIAZZA SANTISSIMA ANNUNZIATA

• The Hospital of the Innocents, an architectural work by Brunelleschi, was founded to provide shelter to abandoned children as early as 1440. Inside, it hosts a museum that explores themes of hospitality and narrates the Institute's essence through its six centuries of activity.
  The Church of Santissima Annunziata dates back to the mid-200s. Characterized by Baroque style, it contains splendid organs, frescoes by Andrea del Sarto, Pontormo, and Rosso Fiorentino.
  The Archaeological Museum contains one of the most comprehensive collections of Italian archaeology. There is a Greek section, featuring the François Vase, an Etruscan section with the Chimera of Arezzo, and a Roman section. Inside, the Egyptian section, the second largest in Italy after Turin’s, houses works from private collections and excavations from the 1930s.
  In the Piazza, there are the two sea monster fountains by Pietro Tacca, late Mannerist masterpieces. At the center is a bronze monument commissioned by Ferdinando I de’ Medici to Giambologna, later finished by Pietro Tacca. A curiosity of this monument is the bees found on one side of the pedestal: counting them is a real challenge!

PIAZZALE MICHELANGELO

• Piazzale Michelangelo is the panoramic terrace par excellence. A view of Florence not to be missed! From here, all the monuments and the Arno River crossing the city are clearly visible.
  It was created in 1869 by architect Giuseppe Poggi, at a time when Florence was still the capital of Italy and the entire city was undergoing urban renovation.
  At the square’s center are bronze copies of two of Michelangelo’s works: the four allegories from the Medici Chapels of San Lorenzo and the David. Curiosity: the monument was brought up by nine pairs of oxen on June 25, 1873.

CHURCH OF SAN MINIATO AL MONTE

• Located in one of the highest points of Florence, behind Piazzale Michelangelo, it enjoys a wonderful view of the historic center of Florence.
  Built between the 11th and 13th centuries, the Church's exterior is decorated with green and white marbles. The interior is Romanesque style with a three-aisle layout. The monumental cemetery houses the tomb of Carlo Lorenzini (Collodi), the author of Pinocchio.

FORTE DI BELVEDERE

• A fortified villa located at the highest point of the Boboli hill, accessible via Costa San Giorgio, Via Belvedere, Via San Leonardo, and the Boboli Gardens. Here, too, an excellent view of the city can be enjoyed. Built between 1590 and 1595 by Grand Duke Ferdinando I de’ Medici, who entrusted the project and execution to Bernardo Buontalenti. Venue for temporary exhibitions and cultural events.

VIA TORNABUONI

• Roman walls once passed through this street, and, during the reign of the Countess Matilda of Tuscany, the Mugnone River flowed past here. Today it is the most elegant street in the city, with numerous high-fashion boutiques.
  On this street stands the “cube” of the great Palazzo Strozzi, one of the most significant Renaissance buildings in Florence. The Palazzo has a vast and majestic courtyard accessed through three large arches. Today, it hosts important art exhibitions.

PIAZZA DELLA REPUBBLICA

• Once Roman in style, its current appearance with 19th-century buildings and a triumphal arch results from urban redevelopment when Florence was the capital of Italy. Facing the square are historic cafes: Caffè Gilli, Caffè Paskowski, and Caffè delle Giubbe Rosse, frequented by many artists and writers of the past. Under the loggias, you will find the Hard Rock Cafe Florence.

PALAZZO MEDICI RICCARDI

• The Renaissance palace was commissioned by Cosimo the Elder de’ Medici to Michelozzo around the mid-1400s. Inside is the Chapel of the Magi frescoed by Benozzo Gozzoli: a religious subject (the Cavalcade of the Magi) where, however, members of the Medici family and political figures of the time are portrayed.

PIAZZA SANTO SPIRITO

• It is located in the Oltrarno district, a place of markets and small fairs, rich in restaurants, nightlife venues, artisan workshops, and artists’ studios. Surrounded by beautiful 15th-century palaces and the Basilica of the same name.
  The Basilica of Santo Spirito was designed by Filippo Brunelleschi in 1444. The interior holds remarkable works of art, including a wooden crucifix attributed to a young Michelangelo.

PIAZZA DEL CARMINE

• The square, dominated by the unfinished facade of the basilica, is one of the main squares in the Oltrarno district.
  The Basilica of Santa Maria del Carmine was founded in 1268 as part of a Carmelite convent, most of which was destroyed by a fire in 1771. It is famous for housing the Brancacci Chapel, founded by the Brancacci family in the late 14th century. It hosts the famous fresco cycle depicting scenes from the life of St. Peter and the Original Sin, begun by Masolino and Masaccio in 1424 and completed by Filippino Lippi.

PIAZZA DELLA PASSERA

• It is a small and characteristic square in the Oltrarno district. A meeting place for Florentines and foreigners.