Since we have Mino da Fiesole in our minds and are on the subject of old palaces let us walk from the Dante quarter in a straight line from the Corso, that very busy street of small shops, across the Via del Proconsolo and down the Borgo degli Albizzi to S. Ambrogio, where Mino was buried.

But I am not sure that to dream of Fiesole as desirable, and to murmur its beautiful syllables, is not best.

Another set of letters, composed in the same tone by a man who signs himself Silvio di Giovanni da Cepparello, was written by a sculptor honourably mentioned in Vasari's Life of Andrea da Fiesole for his work at S. Lorenzo, in Genoa, and elsewhere.

It was bestowed on his father, a successful bankersome said usurer, some said worseby the Grand-duke Leopold, for substantial assistance toward his pet hobbythe magnificent road that zigzags up the mountain-side to Fiesole from Florence.

A remarkable change in Lander's life is noticeable in 1821, when, at forty-six years of age, after having lost his magnificent estate of Llanthony Abbey, in Glamorganshire, and after a stormy experience in Como, he settled down for a time at Fiesole near Florence.

But the main interest of Fiesole to most people is not the cypress-covered hill of S. Francesco; not the view from the summit; not the straw mementoes; not the Mino relief in the church; but the Roman arena.

We passed through the public walk at this end of the city, and followed the road to Fiesole along the dried-up bed of a mountain torrent.

We passed Fiesole with its tower and acropolis on the right, ascending slowly, with the bold peak of one of the loftiest Appenines on our left.

For Fiesole at nearer view can easily disappoint.