Address: Piazza S. Francesco - Fiesole
The ancient basilica of Sant'Alessandro lies almost at the top
of the steep road that leads to the top of the hill of San
Francesco. Originally this was the site of an Etruscan temple,
then replaced by a Roman Temple and then by the Christian church,
the origins of which are said to go back to S. Theodoric, and
which may have inherited the capitals and columns of the Roman
buildings. Almost certainly of pre-Romanesque origins, the church
was renewed in the 11th century, then remodelled in the 16th and
18th centuries with the addition of a neoclassical facade at the
beginning of the 19th century. Recent restoration has once more
brought to light the Romanesque structures. The columns in
oriental cipolin marble with Ionic capitals and bases are
particularly noteworthy.
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