FIESOLE
WALK II
HISTORY OF Fiesole
Fiesole area has been inhabited since the Bronze age;
in the 6th century B.C. the Etruscans settled here with their original settlement becoming a proper town in the 4th century B.C.;
Continuing through the Ellenistic age and then the Roman colony, the town became a Municipium with a Forum and a Capitol in the mid-1°. century B.C.;
Walls, tombs, thermal baths, bronze statues, vases, coins, discovered in different times are the archeological finds that tell the history of Fiesole as an important Etruscan town;
In short, Fiesole develops as Etruscan town, Roman town finally becoming a stronghold of a Lombard Duchy.
ARCHAEOLOGICAL SITEFIESOLE
ARCHAEOLOGICAL MUSEUM
The museum is built in the form of an Ionic temple, and dates back to the mid-800s;
It was built by the will of a group of intellectuals and scholars of the time in order to collect the findings of the excavations already carried out in that period;
In the years 1979-80 began a first restructuring of the museum, which contains the important Costantini Collection consisting of Greek, Etruscan and Italic finds that Prof. Alfiero Costantini donated to the municipality of Fiesole;
ETRUSCAN AND ROMAN TEMPLESIN GRAY COLOR ARE MARKED THE SECTIONS RELATED TO THE ETRUSCAN TIME (III B.C.E)
The Etruscan temples were built on high slopes with the use of bricks and wood;
The breathability of these materials has often deprived us of the building's elevation, of which only the foundations are preserved;
Part of the walls of the Etruscan temple have been recovered to allow the building of the Roman temple;
The temple of Fiesole, built for the first time in Etruscan times (3th. century B.C.), was destroyed in the 1st century B.C. and it was reconstructed on the central cell type and with two lateral wings;
It is a variant of the three-cell model indicated by Vitruvio;
Vitruvio – architect and military engineer who lived under Augustus, author of the De Architectura manual;
CONTINUE……..
The building occupies the north side of the archaeological area, above it is a superimposed Lombard cemetery that dates back to the 6-7th century AD;
The main ground plan is rectangular, built in sandstone;
The temple was accessed by a staircase, built with four blocks of stones;
In the Etruscan temples, the roof was formed by a wooden structure, covered with terracotta tiles, with a rich decoration of statues that surmounted it;
The Roman temple of the 1st century BC was rebuilt to a higher level than the previous one, and was enlarged with grandiose dimensions;
On the central façade a colonnaded podium was built, which was accessed by a monumental staircase, still today a recognizable sign of the Roman building;
ROMAN THEATERTHE CONSTRUCTION STARTED IN THE AUGUSTAN AGE AND WAS PROBABLY COMPLETED IN THE JULIO-CLAUDIAN AGE(1 CENTURY BCE – 1 CENTURY AD)
Roman theater – archeological site fiesole
The theater occupies the central area of the archaeological site;
Its semicircle plant repeats the model of the Greek theater taken from the Roman ones, used for the representation of comedy and mime shows;
The theater is made up of three main parts: the cavea, the orchestra, and the scaena;
It is semicircular in shape, not elliptical, as is the amphitheater where the most popular shows were represented, such as gladiatorial fights, hunting for wild animals, etc;
The theater is located inside the city, the amphitheater outside the city walls;
The entrance to the theater took place from above, through eight passages, in some of which are preserved the slabs that act as lintels of the doors;
The entrance to the theater took place from above, through eight passages, in some of which are preserved the slabs that act as lintels of the doors;
The steps of the cavea are divided into sectors, and here were sitting the common citizens;
At the end of the auditorium is the orchestra, where there were organized marble seats for senators, priests and aristocrats;
This function (the orchestra) appears reduced and transformed with respect to that of the Greek theater where classical tragedies were organized with ballets and choir;
The building has been dated from the Augustan age (1st century BC-1 century AD).
MODEL OF ANCIENT GREEK THEATER
THE ROMAN THERMAL BATHSarcheological site – fiesole
Every Roman city had at least one thermal building;
This public structure was very important for the social life of the population, and it appears since the 1st century BC.;
The baths were a place of physical activity and body care, but also a meeting place and study;
In the large complexes (Es. Terme di Caracalla and Diocleziano in Rome) we find swimming pools and gyms, gardens with porticoes, sauna rooms, libraries;
The building is bordered on the north side by the walls and on the south side by the hill, its ground plan is irregular;
Entering from the west side there is a rectangular basin, followed by a portico that had to contain inside a gym and another pool.
Entering from the west side there is a rectangular basin, followed by a portico that had to contain inside a gym and another pool;
On the inside there is the central hall, used for the Tepidarium function;
The room on the right is the Calidarium, recognizable by the raised floor on small pillars that created space for the diffusion of hot air;
In the contact wall between the Tepidarium and the Calidarium, the openings can be seen through which hot air circulated, which spread through perforated bricks along the walls;
The heat was generated by two furnaces;
On the north side, is the Frigidarium, the most spacious and coolest place, divided into 2 distinct spaces (gym and pool) with three arches in Pietra serena.
GLOSSARY
ETRUSCAN TEMPLE
PODIUM
PEDIMENT
ROMAN THEATER
CAVEA
ORCHESTRA
STAGE
THERMAL BATHS
TEPIDARIUM
FRIGIDARIUM
CALIDARIUM
