FIESOLE (anc.

See also:

• FAESULAE (mod.. Fiesole, q.v.)

Faesulae, q.v.)  , a town and episcopal see of Tuscany, Italy, in the province of Florence, from which it is 3 M . N.E. by electric tramway . Pop . (1901) town 4951, commune 16,816 . It is situated on a hill 970 ft. above sea-level, and commands a fine view . The cathedral of S . Romolo is an early and simple example of the Tuscan Romanesque style; it is a small basilica, begun in 1028 and restored in 1256 . The picturesque battlemented campanile belongs to 1213 . Thetomb of the bishop Leonardo Sali tati (d . 1466). with a beautiful portrait bust by the sculptor Mino da Fiesole (1431-1484), is fine . The 13th-century Palazzo Pretorio contains a small museum of antiquities . The Franciscan monastery commands a fine view .

The

church of S . Maria Primerana has some works of art, and S . Alessandro, which is attributed to the 6th century, contains fifteen ancient columns of cipollino . The inhabitants of Fiesole are largely engaged in straw-plaiting . Below Fiesole, between it and Florence, lies San Domenico di Fiesole (485 ft.); in the Dominican monastery the painter, Fra Giovanni Angelico da Fiesole (1387–1455), lived until he went to S . Marco at Florence . Here, too, is the Badia di Fiesole, founded in 1028 and re-erected about 1456–1466 by a follower of Brunelleschi . It is an irregular pile of buildings, in fine and simple early Renaissance style; a small part of the original facade of Ioz8 in black and white marble is preserved . The interior of the Church is decorated with sculptures by pupils of Desiderio da Settignano . The slopes of the hill on which Fiesole stands are covered with fine villas . To the S.E. of Fiesole lies Monte Ceceri (1453 ft.), with quarries of grey pietra set-ma, largely used in Florence for building . To the E. of this lies the 14th-century castle of Vincigliata restored and fitted up in the medieval style .