Fiesole

Fiesole (Italian pronunciation: [ˈfjɛːzole]) is a town and comune of the Metropolitan City of Florence in the Italian region of Tuscany, on a scenic height above Florence, 5 km (3 miles) northeast of that city. It has structures dating to Etruscan and Roman times.

Founded in the seventh century BC as Vipsul, the city became one of the most important and earliest urban centres of the Etruscan civilisation. Since the fourteenth century, the city has always been considered a getaway for members of the upper class of Florence and, up to this day, Fiesole remains noted for its very expensive residential properties, just as well as its centuries-old villas and their formal gardens. The city is generally considered to be the wealthiest and most affluent suburb of Florence. In 2016, the city had the highest median family income in the whole of Tuscany.

Fiesole is a centre of higher education. The campus of the European University Institute is situated in the suburb and uses several historical buildings including the Badia Faesolina and the Villa Schifanoia. Additionally, the American universities, Harvard, Georgetown, and Saint Mary's of Minnesota all maintain campuses at Fiesole.

Fiesole (Latin Faesulae from the Etruscan Viesul, Viśl, Vipsul) was probably founded sometime during the ninth century BC, as it was an important member of the Etruscan confederacy. The remains of its prehistoric walls and ancient structures have been preserved and an archaeological museum in the town presents artifacts from and information about these cultural periods.

The earliest known recorded mention of the town dates to 283 BC, when the Etruscan town, then known as Faesulae, was conquered by the Romans. In Roman antiquity, it was the seat of a famous school of augurs and, every year, twelve young men were sent there from Rome to study the art of divination.

The old town was either destroyed in the Social War or alternatively by Sulla in 80 BC, in reprisal for supporting the populares faction in Rome. Sulla later colonized it with veterans. This colony who afterward, under the leadership of Gaius Mallius, supported the cause of Catilina.

The Roman theatre, below the cathedral to the northeast, has 19 tiers of stone seats and is 37 yards (34 m) in diameter. It has been restored partially enough to provide a good idea of its structure. Above it is an embanking wall of irregular masonry, and below it some remains of Roman baths, including five parallel vaults of concrete. More than 1,000 silver denarii, all coined before 63 BC, were found at Faesulae in 1829. A small museum contains the objects found in the excavations of the theatre.

Fiesole was the scene of Stilicho's great victory over the Germanic hordes of the Vandals and Suebi under Radagaisus in 406. During the Gothic War (536–553), the town was besieged several times. In 539, Justin, the Byzantine general, captured it and razed its fortifications.