Fiesole Walk

With rain in the forecast, I decided to take advantage of today's sunshine to go on an uphill walk to Fiesole. As long as Florence has been around, Fiesole has been here longer, going back to about 700 B.C. My hopes for some fine views of Florence all but disappeared when it became clear (or unclear) that this was a Tuscan "burn day". There weren't many fires going in the valley, but those that were gave off billowing clouds that soon settled in a haze over the region.
Still, it was good to walk out of the city up through an area of vines and villas and on to Fiesole, with all of its charms. Here's a fairly clear view (except for the smoke) on the way up.

Although Fiesole draws many tourists with its views, old churches, very old ruins, and contemporary restaurants and lodgings, it's still a nice place to explore and discover.  Here is perhaps the most manicured park one could ever hope to see.

And a Fiesole street scene, as depicted above someone's mail slot.

I'll spare you any of the wonderful-but-very-hazy views of Florence.
As for the round trip walk, about ten miles total, with a good map one can at least avoid some of the traffic and still go a fairly direct route. My trek lasted about five hours.
On the main road one passes through a town with a beautiful Dominican Church. Not surprisingly, the name of the town is San Domenico. At one time Fra Angelico lived here. Here's just a section of the church ceiling.

Re-entering the city, Florence has an outer traffic artery to handle the flow of vehicles, especially important as access to the inner city is limited. However, when the roadway was built its designers had a problem. On a rise right in the middle of things there was an old English cemetery. How were they to address this challenge?

The old English cemetery is now a traffic island, a peaceful oasis encircled by the commuter flow. Fortunately, the rise and walls do seem to set the traffic apart. Here is the resting place of one of the English community's notables.

The "E-B-B" stands for Elizabeth Barrett Browning. 
Ciao.