Tuscan Wanderways – Walking in and Around Florence
TUSCAN WANDERWAYS
FIESOLE – MONTECECERI – SETTIGNANO
Before setting out, the best way to interpret your wanderway from Fiesole up to Montececeri and over to Settignano, is to observe it from afar. Take a bus up to Piazzale Michelangelo, one of the most frequented landmarks of the city. From the front balustrade of the Piazzale, look down over the river Arno to the cupola of the Cathedral, and then directly up to the horizon. Fiesole crowns the hilltop in the distance, and beside it, to your right, is Montececeri. It was from this platform that the “first human flight” was attempted following the drawings of Leonardo da Vinci.
Facing the river, walk to the left and round the balustrade until you come to a flight of steps leading down to a small piazza. At the end of this area is a board-map showing the most celebrated buildings of the city.
BUS TO FIESOLE
ATAF bus 7, Florence to Fiesole (20 minutes)
STOPPING AT
Central Station – Piazza Indipendenza – Piazza San Marco – Piazza della Libertà – Piazza delle Cure – Piazza Edison – Camerata – San Domenico – Regresso – Piazza Mino da Fiesole.
WALK TIME
3 hours. Grade: Leisurely.
FIESOLE
A century ago, the walk uphill from Florence to Fiesole was only for the energetic; the electric tram was tedious and long-winded, and downright punishing for the horses dragging their carriages of goods and passengers.
Every Latin historian had something to say about Fiesole. Rambling and strange at times as their stories might seem, they do contain a grain or two of truth. Some asserted that it was built by the