The Abbey of Fiesole Great and severe, it was the cathedral of Fiesole from the Dark Ages until 1026. From 1456, intended by Cosimo the Elder and with his direct interventions in the project, the much more larger Abbey was begun to built.
According to Vasari Brunelleschi provided the model, but he was already dead since ten years when the works were begun, and the style of the church and of the convent belong to his followers.
The façade of the church, which has remained rough and incomplete because of the death of Cosimo I, adopts the small white and green Romanic façade of the 12th century, which recalls the architectural pattern of the façade of S. Miniato and of the Baptistery of Florence.
The interior with a single aisle, and a Brunelleschi touch, dates back to 1461-64. On the right of the church there's the ex convento, where Cosimo the Elder had a quarter built where he often lived and gathered rare books and codes.
For any information:
Badia Fiesolana Via Dei Roccettini (055 9155). Open 9am-6pm Sat 9.30am-1pm. Admission: free.
