Packing List for Fiesole, Italy: What Women Should Bring

Photograph: The cathedral bell tower above Fiesole by Szilas, Public domain, via Wikimedia Commons.

Fiesole is a hill town about five kilometres north east of Florence, at around 295 metres above sea level, and it was an Etruscan town with walls and temples, and then a Roman one with a theatre and baths, whose remains you can still walk through. Most people come up for half a day from Florence, but Fiesole is not a viewpoint with a car park. It is an Etruscan and Roman site, a working Tuscan town with its own cathedral and bishop, and a steep hill with a Franciscan convent on top, and the packing list follows from that: good shoes for stone steps and gradients, a layer for an exposed hill, and something to cover your shoulders for the churches.

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The photograph shows the tall battlemented stone bell tower of Fiesole cathedral rising at the left behind a row of buildings, on a clear day under a blue sky, with two tall dark cypresses and other trees at the centre and right, a clipped hedge, a few stone steps leading up, and a modern glass fronted building with umbrellas in the middle distance. What one frame cannot show is most of what you come for. The Roman theatre and the rest of the archaeological area, the baths, the temple and the Etruscan walls, are not in this picture. Neither is the view over Florence, the climb to the San Francesco hill and its convent, Piazza Mino, the cathedral interior, or the old Badia at the foot of the hill.

Florence Below, Fiesole Above

Treat Florence as the base and Fiesole as the climb. Our Florence packing list covers the city where you will almost certainly sleep, and the Florence travel guide for women covers the neighbourhoods, the museums and the logistics.

The relationship between the two places is old and not always friendly. In the early Middle Ages Fiesole was an independent town, by one account no less powerful than Florence in the valley below, and the two fought repeatedly until Florence conquered it in 1125 and obliged its leading families to move down into the city. Dante has a character in the Inferno speak of "the beasts of Fiesole". By the fourteenth century the relationship had softened into something else: rich Florentines kept country villas on these slopes, and one of them is the setting for the frame story of Boccaccio's Decameron.

Getting Up the Hill

The bus is how most people do it. The town's own Italian sources name city bus line 7, run by Autolinee Toscane, with its Florence terminus at Piazza della Liberta. Check the current route and timetable with the operator before you go rather than relying on anything printed here, and buy your ticket before boarding. The FCDO notes that a ticket bought from a kiosk or machine must be validated on board before your journey starts, and that inspectors issue on the spot fines to anyone without a validated ticket.

Some visitors walk up, or walk down after taking the bus up. It is a real climb on roads and lanes, much of it in full sun, so do it in the cooler part of the day, carry water, and wear shoes with grip.

If you drive, remember that many Italian historic centres have limited traffic zones, and the FCDO notes that theft from parked cars is common across the country, so leave nothing in the car, not even in the boot.

Piazza Mino and the Cathedral

The bus leaves you at the heart of the town. Piazza Mino da Fiesole is the main square, with the Romanesque cathedral, the bishop's seminary in Palazzo Altoviti and the town hall around it, and the entrance to the Roman theatre is just to the north.

The cathedral of San Romolo was founded in 1028 by Bishop Jacopo the Bavarian, who wanted his church inside the city walls. Its bell tower is the one in the photograph: begun in 1213, rebuilt in the eighteenth century and given its crown of battlements in 1739, it rises to a little over 42 metres. Inside, the church is plain and serious, with little decoration. Look for the funerary monument of Bishop Leonardo Salutati by Mino da Fiesole, the sculptor the square is named for, and the large statue of Saint Romulus by Giovanni della Robbia, dated 1521, on the inside of the front wall.

The old cathedral that San Romolo replaced stands lower down the hill and became a Benedictine abbey, the Badia Fiesolana. It is not in the photograph and it is a separate stop on the way down rather than part of the town centre.

The Roman Theatre and the Archaeological Area

The archaeological area is the reason to give Fiesole a whole morning rather than an hour. It spreads over about three hectares in the northern hollow of the town and holds the monuments of ancient Faesulae: a Roman theatre, a bath complex, an Etruscan and Roman temple and a stretch of the Etruscan walls, with the town's archaeological museum beside them. None of it is in the photograph above.

Faesulae was one of the principal towns of northern Etruria. The earliest recorded mention of it dates to 283 BC, when the Romans conquered it, and in Roman times it was known for a school of augurs, the priests who read omens. The Etruscan circuit of walls ran for about two and a half kilometres around the town, and the stretch in the archaeological area is built from great blocks of the local sandstone.

The theatre is the centrepiece. It is now dated to the last quarter of the first century BC, in the reign of Augustus, and in the Greek manner its seating rests on the rock of the slope itself, with the tiers partly cut into the hillside. Older descriptions count nineteen tiers of stone seats. It is still used: the Estate Fiesolana, the town's summer season of music and theatre, is staged here.

Behind the theatre are the remains of the baths, dated by their masonry to the early decades of Augustus, with a portico that once looked out over the valley of the Mugnone. At the northern end of the site is the temple, whose oldest structures date to the late fourth or early third century BC; finds from its votive deposit, including a small bronze owl, have suggested a cult of Minerva as a healing goddess. From the late sixth century, after the town's decline, the whole monumental area was turned into a Lombard cemetery, and graves still lie across it.

Systematic excavation began in 1870 and the town bought the land three years later. In the museum look for the pietre fiesolane, the carved funerary stones in pietra serena sandstone that were a local speciality.

Practical points for the site: the ruins are largely open to the sun, the ground is uneven, and the theatre steps are worn stone. Wear proper shoes, a hat in summer, and bring water. The FCDO notes that some Italian towns have laws against sitting on monument steps, so take your cue from the staff and the signs.

Recommended Tours and Experiences

The Climb to San Francesco

The steepest walk in Fiesole is also the one with the view. On the crest of the hill, at the western end of the old centre, is the Franciscan convent of San Francesco. The Etruscan acropolis stood here, and later the Roman one and then Fiesole's castle, which the Florentines destroyed in 1125. Franciscans took over the site in 1399, and Bernardino of Siena served as its guardian in 1418. The church you see now owes much of its look to a neo-Gothic remodelling in 1905 and 1906.

The lane up from Piazza Mino is short and steep, and the reward is the panorama over Florence from near the top. It is not in the photograph and it is the best reason to keep a clear afternoon for the climb. Go in the morning or the last hours of light.

Monte Ceceri, close by, is linked by tradition with Leonardo da Vinci's experiments with flight, and there is a monument to his attempt.

The town also remembers a harder chapter. In August 1944, during the Second World War, Fiesole was the scene of the episode remembered as the Martyrs of Fiesole.

When to Go and What the Hill Does to the Weather

Fiesole shares Florence's seasons, but a hill top is exposed in a way a city street is not. Evenings up here can feel cooler and breezier than the valley floor, which matters if you stay for a summer performance in the theatre or for sunset from San Francesco. In high summer the problem is the reverse: open stone, little shade and a climb, so the middle of the day is the time to be indoors in the cathedral or the museum.

The FCDO notes that wildfires are a risk in Italy during the extended summer months, and that heavy winter rain can cause local flooding.

Is Fiesole Safe for Women Travelers

Italy carries no advised-against area anywhere, the phrase "advise against" appears nowhere on the FCDO's landing or safety pages for the country, and neither page names Fiesole or Tuscany.

The FCDO publishes no advised-against areas anywhere in Italy. Its guidance concentrates on petty theft in crowded tourist areas and on the ZTL, the limited traffic zones in historic centres that catch drivers out with automatic fines months after the trip.

The FCDO describes Italian crime as generally low, with bag snatching and pickpocketing concentrated in city centres and at major tourist attractions, and it asks travellers to take care on public transport and in main train and metro stations. For a Fiesole day that means the Florence end of the trip, the crowded city bus and the busy squares at the bottom, more than the hill itself.

The FCDO also warns that recent demonstrations across northern Italian cities have led to violence, and that more may take place in major cities, so check local news before a day in Florence. It advises against taking drinks from strangers or leaving a drink unattended, which applies to a long evening at a summer performance as much as to any bar, and it notes that it is an offence to enter or bathe in public fountains in Florence. Carry photo ID at all times, which Italian law expects.

If you walk the lanes and slopes beyond the town alone, the FCDO's general advice holds: risks are greater on any activity done alone, so leave your plans with someone.

Many parts of Italy lie on a major seismic fault line and the FCDO notes that minor tremors and earthquakes happen regularly. Learn what to do before, during and after one. Fiesole itself sits in Italy's seismic zone 3, the classification in which strong earthquakes are less likely than in zones 1 and 2.

The Fiesole Packing List

A merino wool base layer is the foundation. The climb warms you up, the breeze on the terraces cools you down, and merino handles the swing from one to the other without leaving you clammy, which a cotton top does not.

Footwear matters more here than in Florence. The streets below are flat; the lane to San Francesco, the theatre steps and the uneven ground of the archaeological area are not. Hiking shoes with real grip are the right choice and do not look out of place on a hill town day, and merino hiking socks keep your feet comfortable through a day of steps.

For spring, autumn and any summer evening at the theatre, carry a fleece mid-layer in your bag. Outside high summer, a packable rain jacket earns its place, because the archaeological area has nowhere to shelter. In summer, a wide brim sun hat is the single most useful thing on an open archaeological site.

Water is the other essential for the climb. An insulated water bottle keeps it cold on a hot afternoon, and Italian tap water and public fountains are fine to drink from.

Sunscreen and sunglasses are both needed and neither is linked, because our affiliate register carries no sunscreen and no eyewear entry. For the cathedral and the convent church, pack a top or a light scarf that covers your shoulders.

Essential Resources for Women in Fiesole

Emergency numbers: 112 is the single European emergency number and the FCDO lists it for police in Italy; 118 is the ambulance; 115 is the fire service.

Hospital: dial 118 for an ambulance, which will take you to the nearest public emergency department, the pronto soccorso. The largest public hospital in Florence is the Azienda Ospedaliero-Universitaria Careggi, in the Careggi district in the north of the city. Confirm with your accommodation which emergency department serves where you are staying.

Official health authority: the Ministero della Salute, the Italian health ministry, covers the national guidance, which is the right level for a day trip of this kind.

US Embassy: the United States Embassy in Rome.

Official tourism authority: ENIT, the Italian national tourist board, covers the national picture. For theatre and museum opening hours, the Estate Fiesolana programme and the current bus service, the town's own sources and the operator are the current ones rather than anything printed here.

US State Department travel advisory: the Italy advisory. Read the current level there directly rather than relying on a figure printed in any guide.

UK FCDO travel advice: gov.uk/foreign-travel-advice/italy, and read the safety and security page rather than only the landing page, because that is where the substance sits.

Italy is in the EU, so a UK Global Health Insurance Card or an EU European Health Insurance Card gives you state-provided medically necessary care on the same terms as an Italian resident. That means the same ticket, the co-payment Italians make, rather than nothing, and it does not cover repatriation, so travel insurance sits on top of it. Italian public hospitals are good and the emergency department, the pronto soccorso, treats anyone who arrives. Pharmacies, farmacie, are marked with a green cross, are staffed by pharmacists who can advise and dispense for minor problems, and post a rota for nights and Sundays on the door. Tap water is drinkable across the country, including from the public fountains that are common in Italian towns.

Solo women safety assessment: Fiesole is an easy and pleasant place to spend a day on your own. The FCDO names nothing in Tuscany, the town centre is compact and busy in the daytime, and the risks are practical rather than personal: your bag on a crowded city bus, your footing on worn stone and steep lanes, sun and heat in summer, and a late return after an evening performance. Plan how you are getting back down to Florence before you go up, and if you are walking the slopes beyond the town, tell someone your route.

Reading On

Start with the Florence packing list and the Florence travel guide, because Florence is where you will sleep. The Tuscany packing list covers the region as a whole. Volterra is the other great Etruscan hill town of Tuscany, whose early carved funerary stones are compared with Fiesole's own. For more towns within reach of Florence, see Siena, San Gimignano, Lucca, Pisa and Arezzo. The Italy travel guide for women is the hub, and the travel packing guide covers the system this list is built on.

If the outer journey is calling you, the inner one usually is too. Explore SoulMap at romantrail.com/blogs/soulmap.

For why a steep climb, a breezy hill top and a cool summer evening argue for merino rather than cotton, see our guide to the best merino wool base layers for women, and the full range is in the Roman Trail collection.