Pienza: the ideal city

The experience

Pienza is a small jewel of the Val d’Orcia, known as the city of Pope Pius II, born Enea Silvio Piccolomini, who was born here in 1405. Pius II, once he became Pope, wanted to transform his humble hometown, Corsignano, into an urban-architectural treasure. He thus entrusted the total renovation of the village to the architect Bernardo Rossellino and the humanist Leon Battisti Alberti, who in just four years, from 1459 to 1462, defined the harmonious and typically fifteenth-century appearance of what would be Pienza today. Thus was born what is now known as the ideal City of Authorship: “born from a thought of love and a dream of beauty”, as Giovanni Pascoli wrote.

Due to its peculiar characteristics, since 1996, together with the entire Val d’Orcia, Pienza has been recognized by UNESCO as a World Heritage Site.

Walking through the historic center, in Piazza Pio II, a visit to the Duomo, the Cathedral of the Assumption, is a must. Inside it houses important and remarkable paintings by the most renowned artists of the time, while the beautiful octagonal-shaped bell tower rises above the ancient crypt.

In front of the Duomo you can see the Palazzo Comunale, a historic building dating back to the mid-1400s with its main feature: the large loggia on the façade. Also in the main square, the imposing Piccolomini Museum-Palace stands out with its hanging garden from which you can admire a truly unique view of the entire Val d’Orcia, from Montalcino to Monte Amiata. To complete the closure of the central square you can visit the Palazzo Borgia, home to the Diocesan Museum of Pienza.

Inside the former conservatory of San Carlo, there is now the Archaeological Museum of Pienza, a building of medieval origin, with archaeological and Etruscan collections on display and an exhibition that documents the urban and architectural history of the Pienza area.

A few steps from the historic center, with a short walk you arrive at the Pieve di Corsignano: a Romanesque church with three naves, whose origins date back to the seventh century.