Villa Peyron in Fiesole: charm, extravagance and symbolic paths

The hills of Fiesole, 8 kilometers (5 miles) north of Florence, immediately conjures delightful images. Lush vegetation, broken up by cypresses in strategic places, elegant villas with breathtaking gardens, panoramic views over the city of Giglio in all of its monumental beauty, parish churches, archeological sites, and abbeys that recount centuries-old stories, all characterized by the continual search for harmony and balance between man and nature. The echoes of the Fiesole hills and their fascination was so strong that at the beginning of the 1800s, the number of foreigners, particularly British, who took up residence in this area began to grow significantly. Most likely they were drawn by what has attracted people to Fiesole since the Renaissance, when wealthy Italian families, artists, poets and writers flocked here to experience a city that lies somewhere between reality and mythology, capable of suggesting the splendor of its glorious past. Around the semi-circle created by the natural slopes on which Fiesole rests, villages, lovely gardens, terraced vegetable gardens and small farms were...

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