Fiesole to Settignano (two and a half to three hours).
A favourite walk of mine runs from Fiesole to Settignano and takes about two and a half to three hours. (In Florence, the number 7 bus leaves from outside San Marco every fifteen or twenty minutes and takes about the same time to get to Fiesole).
1.The walk starts in the via Giuseppe Verdi, a narrow street tucked away in the south-east corner of the main square. You will see a red and white stripe painted on the wall at the corner of the street. (This is the sign of the Club Alpino Italiano or CAI, which is responsible for way-marking so many of the walks in Italy). The red and white stripes are intended as an aid to walkers and are painted on walls, trees and rocks. (I often find that the stripes seem to play a game of hide and seek, appearing for a while only to disappear when you most need them). The via Giuseppe Verdi climbs quite steeply for about two to three hundred yards before reaching a fork and the first of many panoramic views.
2.Take the via Montececeri, the start of which is marked by a plaque to the famous American architect, Frank Lloyd Wright, who lived here in 1910. (Wright had left his wife and children for Mamah Cheney, herself the wife of a client, and together they set up house in Fiesole). The road climbs steeply for a few hundred yards before reaching another fork.
3.Take the via degli Scalpellini, which leads downhill past a sign for the Parco di Montececeri. The road soon bears to the right and becomes a track, which leads into a wood.
4.The path we want to follow steers a route between several other paths, all marked with no entry signs. You will soon come to a sign offering you the choice of two directions, A&C. Follow C and turn to the right. The path runs downhill to the Braschi Quarry. Monte Ceceri is riddled with quarries, which, for centuries, supplied the stone for so many Florentine palazzi.
5.Don’t worry about the sign and take the road marked Pericolo Caduta Massi, which climbs steeply uphill. In time, the path will start to go downhill and you will notice that the distant drone of Florence’s traffic has started to fade. Very soon the trees will thin out and you will enjoy wonderful views of the surrounding countryside. Continue downhill until you come to another fork. Turn left and walk until you reach a proper set of wooden signposts.
6.Take the path signposted to Borgunto and you will soon see a small group of houses on your right. Follow the path in the direction of the houses and you will come out into a small car park. Look out for the small chapel with its beautiful terracotta tiled dome.
7.Turn right by the chapel onto a tarmac road, which is signposted to Settignano and Compiobbi. Follow the road downhill until it meets a more major road. Turn right and walk for about 250 yards, past two electricity pylons, until you reach a bus stop and a small car park. On the opposite side of the road sits the Villa dei Bosconi.
8.At the end of the car park, behind some large rocks, lies a path, which leads down through the trees. After about five minutes the path will come to a tarmac road. Turn right and after about 50 yards you will see a wooden signpost. Continue walking in the direction of Settignano.
9.After another few hundred yards you will see, on your left and in front of an empty shrine, another signpost pointing to Settignano. This stretch of the route is reasonably well marked. Walk through the olive groves, across a bridge and up through the trees, always keeping an eye open for the red and white stripes.
10.The path will finally come to a low wall, on the other side of which runs a narrow, but often busy, road. Turn right and walk along the road for a few minutes until you reach a fork. At this point, bear right in the direction of Vincigliata. After about 100 yards you will see, on your right, an entrance to the Castel del Poggio.
11.On the opposite side of the road a path follows a steep and rocky descent through the woods.After about ten minutes the path opens out into an olive grove. At the bottom of the field there is a wooden signpost on the left. Follow the directions for Settignano. After another rocky, if shorter, descent the path meets a tarmac road where you have two options.
Directly ahead the road leads past the cemetery to the centre of Settignano, where you can grab a bite to eat before catching the number 10 bus back to Florence. You can choose between several cafes, a pizzeria and a chichi, if rather pricey, Enoteca, La Sosta del Rossellino. (If you like Renaissance gardens, you might like to delay your return and visit the 16th century VillaGamberaia, which is a short walk along the via del Rossellino).
The alternative is to turn right and follow the quiet and relatively traffic-free road all the way down the hill to the tiny hamlet of Ponte a Mensola. At the bottom of the road, turn left and then right and you will come to the little restaurant of Osvaldo, which has been serving traditional Tuscan food here for half a century.
A short distance beyond the restaurant, you can catch the number 10 bus back to Florence.
