Monte Ceceri is the wooded hill that rises above Fiesole to the northeast, and it rewards a walk for two reasons: the views and the quarry. The hill was the source of much of the pietra serena — the blue-grey sandstone — used to build Renaissance Florence. Brunelleschi used it for the columns of San Lorenzo; Michelangelo used it for architectural details throughout the city. The old quarry face is still visible in the hillside, worn smooth by centuries of extraction.
The walk from Fiesole takes about thirty minutes along marked paths through oak and chestnut woods. Near the summit you get views in both directions — Florence and the Arno valley to the south, the Apennine hills to the north. A small memorial marks the Leonardo connection. The area is part of a protected natural reserve; there are longer trails that loop through the woods if you want to spend the better part of a morning up here.