In 393AD, shortly after Christianity became the official religion, a basilica was consecrated by St Ambroise which was rebuilt in Romanesque style in 1060. A sacristy adjoining a chapel was commissioned from Brunelleschi in 1420 by Giovanni di Bicci, an ancestor of the Medici, whose son, Cosimo the Elder decided to continue the work and build a new church in honour of his family. However, the church never received the façade commissioned from Michelangelo.

Set slightly apart from the cathedral, the 82m-high campanile is formed by a succession of five sections, separated by cornices, accentuated by white, green and pink polychrome marble horizontal pieces. The summit, with its discreet corbelled construction, offers a plunging panorama over the Ste-Marie-de-la-Fleur rooftops, with a particularly fine view of the round Brunelleschi cupola.

The best way of discovering Tuscany, renowned for its beautiful light and landscape, is the road from Florence to Fiesole. It skirts hillsides covered in olive groves, cypresses and terraced gardens as each bend in the road reveals yet another incomparable landscape.

The elegant portico of this 14C church, embellished with glazed terracotta tondi in the style of the della Robbia, is reminiscent of the façade of its neighbour, the Palazzo Pretorio, which stands opposite.