{"id":15303,"date":"2026-09-30T12:54:16","date_gmt":"2026-09-30T19:54:16","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.roamintheempire.com\/?p=15303"},"modified":"2026-09-30T12:37:58","modified_gmt":"2026-09-30T19:37:58","slug":"faesulae-part-i","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.roamintheempire.com\/index.php\/2026\/09\/30\/faesulae-part-i\/","title":{"rendered":"Faesulae, Etruria – Part I"},"content":{"rendered":"
\"Etruscan<\/a>
Etruscan boundary stone with the Etruscan name of Faesulae. Dated to the 2nd century CE. Museo Archeologico Civico.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Most Recent Visit:<\/strong> August 2024<\/p>\n

Perched in the hills above modern Florence is the town of Fiesole, successor to the ancient settlement of Faesulae. Archaeological evidence suggests the hill, which offers a defensible position above the confluence of the Arnus (modern Arno) and Munio (modern Mugnone) rivers, near where the later Roman settlement of Florentia (modern Florence) would be built, has been continuously occupied as early as the Archaic period. There has also been material found from earlier periods going back as far ast the 13th<\/sup> century BCE, but the amount seems to indicate that the settlements of those periods may have been located on adjacent hills, rather than the two on which Faesulae sits.<\/p>\n

The Etruscan settlement, founded sometime between the 9th<\/sup> and 7th<\/sup> centuries BCE, was called Viesul (or Vipsul or Visl) according to the discovery of a series of boundary stones bearing these names and associated with the city. It is possible that it was established as a colony of Volaterrae (modern Volterra). In the late 6th<\/sup> or early 5th<\/sup> century BCE, a synecism incorporated dispersed populations in the area into the settlement. By the 5th<\/sup> century BCE, Faesulae had developed into an important trade and communication hub for the Etruscans, as well as an integral part of the defensive network against the Celts north of Etruria. The construction of a circuit of defensive fortifications in the 4th<\/sup> century ore early 3rd century BCE attests to the latter point.<\/p>\n

\"Etruscan<\/a>
Etruscan defensive walls (north of the Area Archeologica di Fiesole) constructed in the 4th\/3rd century BCE.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

It is generally accepted that Faesulae came under Roman control by 283 BCE, following the defeat of the Gallic-Etruscan forces at Lake Vadimo and the subjugation of much of Etruria to Roman hegemony. The Roman name for the settlement was derived from the Hellenized version (\u03a6\u03b1\u03af\u03c3\u03bf\u03bb\u03b1) of the Etruscan name. Faesulae is first explicitly mentioned in the historical record in 225 BCE, when an invading Celtic force lured a Roman army into an ambush at Faesulae, dealing the Romans a heavy defeat. A few years later, in 217 BCE, Hannibal is noted as having encamped near Faesula, which was supporting Rome in the Second Punic War, and plundered the fertile agricultural lands extending southward toward Arretium<\/a> (modern Arezzo).<\/p>\n

\"Theater.<\/a>
Theater.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

During the Social War, Faesulae supported the Italian rebels and was conquered by Lucius Porcius Cato in 89 BCE. It is sometimes reported that the city was destroyed as a result of this action. In reality, it seems more likely that the city suffered destruction at the hands of Lucius Cornelius Sulla in 80 BCE for their support of the populares<\/em> during Sulla\u2019s Civil War. A colony of Sulla\u2019s veterans was established at Faesulae shortly after. Faesulae continued their trend of supporting the losing faction in the civil unrest of the 1st<\/sup> century BCE by providing material support to Catiline in his attempted coup d\u2019etat in 63-62 BCE. It was at Faesulae that the conspirator Gaius Manlius made his military headquarters and raised two legions for combat and to where Catiline fled after the plot was discovered in Rome. The legions were essentially cornered at Faesulae by Quintus Caecilius Metellus Celer and Gaius Antonius Hybrida before Catiline and Manlius were able to break out and engage in battle with Antonius at nearby Pistoria (modern Pistoia), where they lost and were both killed.<\/p>\n

\"Portrait<\/a>
Portrait of a woman, possibly Hadrian’s wife, Vibia Sabina. Dated to the 2nd century CE. Museo Civico Archeologico.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

During the Roman period, Faesulae was renowned for its school of augurs. While sources report that a dozen youths of Rome were sent yearly to study divination in Etruria, it is often interpreted as specifically referring to Faesulae. Around the middle of the 1st<\/sup> century BCE, the city was given municipium<\/em>, but by the time of Augustus had begun to be eclipsed in importance by Florentia. Faesulae is not mentioned again in the sources until 406 CE, when the Roman commander Stilicho broke the Gothic siege of Florentia by Radagaisus, causing the latter to retreat to Faesulae, where he was killed. The city was later taken by the Ostrogoths, but reconquered by the Byzantine general Belesarius in 539 CE, who was unable to take it by force, but eventually starved the Faesulae into submission.<\/p>\n