Fiesole down to Settignano

After our night up in Fiesole, we headed off on a CAI path down to another small town on the outskirts of Florence.  We could catch the bus there to get ourselves back to Florence, and the train home ...

The old bell tower that defines the skyline of Fiesole

Before we left town, we had a walk round the Roman theatre - it is used every summer to put on an arts festival

On our way, splendid views of Florence - the duomo just visible in the centre

The ubiquitous gas meter covers are frequently rather unsightly.  Some bright spark(!) in Fiesole came up with the idea of placing original paintings on the covers, to distract and delight the eye ...

The hill on which Fiesole is situated is riddled with ancient quarries, where the sought-after building stone - Pietra Serena - was obtained to build the great buildings of Florence

Our walk took us through pinewoods ...

... olive groves ...

... groves of Tuscan cypress trees ...

... and past fairytale castles, until we reached our destination, and a well-deserved caffè and a panino.