A tale spanning over 2000 years of history: from the Etruscans to the Romans, from the Lombards to antiques collections.
Situated in a position of extraordinary interest for both its history and landscape, the Archaeological Museum is home to Fiesole’s historical treasures, showing visitors all the different cultures that were present in the territory, from the Villanovan to the Etruscan period, from the Romans to the Lombards. The Museum is also home to a rich antiquarian section, consisting of artfacts donated by numerous important collectors, which allows visitors to examine the Greek period as well.
The origins of the Archaeological Museum
The Archaeological Museum of Fiesole was founded at the end of 19th century in order to collect and preserve the archaeological findings discovered during the excavation of the Roman theatre, as well as the monuments of what is known today as the Archaeological Area.
The Museum and its collection, which had been located inside what is now the Palazzo del Comune since its foundations in 1878, and which had also been enriched by donations from prvate individuals and other cultural institutions, found its definitive home in 1914, when the building where the museum is located was built.
The exhibition itinerary
Inside the Archaeological museum, the visit itinerary is structured on two levels:
- ground floor: it houses the rooms dedicated to the topographical section, i.e. the display of artefacts recovered in the city and in the territory classified according to where they were found. In Room 1 visitors will find a selection of the oldest materials recovered in Fiesole (such as Villanovan pottery), Fiesole stelae (Etruscan grave markers, typical of the Fiesole area), votive bronzes recovered from the city's Etruscan temples, and other bronze and stone artefacts from the Roman period. In addition to the bronze torso of a she-wolf/lioness, which is one of the most significant exhibits in the Museum, Room 3 displays materials found in excavations in the Archaeological Area, coming in particular from the Theatre, the Baths and the Temple: among these, it is worth mentioning the votive stipe from the temple with the small bronze owl suggesting the link between this building and the goddess Minerva. The small Room 4, on the other hand, houses some artefacts from the very first collection of the museum as preparation for a visit to the antiques section on the upper floor. The tour on ground floor continues with the rooms dedicated to the Longobards and the evidence this people left in Fiesole. The reconstruction of some burials and the objects found in the grave goods on display provide an insight into the material culture and customs of this population of warriors and craftsmen, who arrived in Italy and settled in Fiesole at the end of the 6th century AD. Along the itinerary it is also possible to take a closer look at the remains of some terracing walls of the Etruscan city and other wall structures from the Roman period found during the archaeological excavations carried out in the late 1980s in Via Marini;
Archaeological Museum, Room 3, "she-wolf/lioness of Fiesole", bronze
- First floor: the first floor houses the antiques collections, consisting of artefacts (of various types and provenance) donated to the Museum over the course of time by a number of private collectors. Among the many valuable objects are those from the Costantini Collection, which boasts numerous Greek, Magno-Greek and Etruscan ceramics. Other collections include the Etruscan bucchero and Italic vases from the Società Colombaria of Florence, the numismatic collection and the Albites Collection, consisting of Greek, Etruscan and Roman materials of various kinds, including numerous sculptures and cinerary urns.
