Those who approach this book intrigued by the cover image, bearing the silhouette of a pyramid located near the Ponte Vecchio, should not expect to find esoteric allusions or archaeo-mystical fantasies. Instead, that figure is meant to be a metaphor, a fantastic and eternally living image of the curiosity that any citizen, visitor and tourist can address to the past of Florence and Fiesole. And therefore it symbolizes the passion for history and archaeology that springs from participation in the city's most intimate life. We have chosen this image, one of many possible, for the new edition of Antiche Curiosità Fiorentine (Ancient Florentine Curiosities), successfully published over the past thirty years, updated and reintegrated with the spirit and authenticity of all time. But know that a pyramid, in the Oltrarno, really existed!