What to See in Pienza, the Ideal Renaissance City

La storia di Pienza, cittadina della Toscana di 2.000 abitanti in provincia di Siena, fra la Val d’Orcia e la Valdichiana, inizia nel 1462 quando il papa Pio II, al secolo Enea Silvio Piccolomini, dopo essersi fermato nella nativa Corsignano durate un viaggio a Mantova ed essere rimasto sfavorevolmente colpito dal suo aspetto povero e degradato, decide di trasformare la città e di edificarvi la sua residenza estiva.

Per fare ciò affida l’incarico a Bernardo Rossellino, architetto seguace di Leon Battista Alberti.

Here are 10 things to do and see in Pienza, UNESCO World Heritage site.

1 The Ideal Renaissance City

Leon Battista Alberti was one of the theorists of the ideal Renaissance city, whose main characteristic was the organization of space based on ideal principles of balance, functionality, and rational order. Rossellino’s Pienza represents one of the first applications of these principles. Although the works lasted only until 1464, the year of the death of both the pope and the architect, the project has a coherent meaning and has not undergone changes up to the present day.

Rossellino leaves unchanged the structure of the medieval side alleys but clearly defines the urban layout with a central street, the current Corso Rossellino, which connects the two city gates, the Porta del Giglio and the Porta al Prado. On this occasion, the entire city wall is rebuilt. The center of the village is the Piazza Pio II, where the Cathedral and the main city palaces stand.

2 Medieval buildings

About forty medieval public and private buildings are being renovated or replaced, giving widespread stylistic uniformity: indeed, this intervention affects the cardinal residences, but also 12 housing palaces for the people located near the walls in the area of the Porta del Giglio.

The unified vision of the project is evident: the perspectives created by the road layout and the lines of the paved streets that neatly integrate with the vertical lines of the palaces make the whole particularly harmonious. Despite the difference in appearance of the various buildings, the Renaissance stylistic imprint is clear and completely replaces the medieval one. Finally, and once again according to the parameters of the ideal city, visual spaces are opened, such as the portico of Palazzo Piccolomini, which relate the city to the surrounding environment.

3 Piazza Pio II

The center of Pienza, as mentioned, is the Piazza Pio II, adjacent to the main street. Its trapezoidal shape arises from the need to place the main buildings of the city in a limited space, respecting the roadway axis and at the same time counterbalancing the perspective convergence of the building lines towards the horizon. The perspectives are further emphasized by the flooring, made of terracotta divided by travertine strips, forming a sort of grid.

4 Pienza Cathedral

The Pienza Cathedral occupies a scenic position in the square. Its exterior appearance is Renaissance and recalls the style of Leon Battista Alberti. On the tympanum dominates the emblem of the Holy See and the Piccolomini family. Since Pius II was fascinated by the German Hallenkirchen and the work of some intellectuals such as Nicholas of Cusa, the interior of the Cathedral features several references to the German Gothic style; the most obvious is represented by the stained glass windows. Finally, you can also admire fine paintings by Sienese artists such as Vecchietta, Matteo di Giovanni, and Sano di Pietro.

5 Palazzo Piccolomini

To the right of the Cathedral is the pope’s residence, Palazzo Piccolomini. Inspired by the Florentine Palazzo Ruccellai, a work of Alberti, it features an exterior of smoothly rusticated stone. The most striking element of the building is the hanging garden, bounded by a facade with three orders of arches, and open to the Val d’Orcia. The garden itself, geometrically divided with rectangular flowerbeds, serves as a link between architecture and nature, harmoniously integrating these two entities. The first floor of the Piccolomini Palace is open to the public as a museum. It bears witness, with period furnishings, to how the history of Pienza is closely tied to the Piccolomini family.

6 Town Hall or Palazzo Pretorio

In front of the Cathedral stands the Town Hall (or Palazzo Pretorio) with a portico on the ground floor and a sturdy crenellated tower, typical of the Sienese and Florentine tradition.

7 Bishop’s Palace or Borgia Palace

In front of the Palazzo Piccolomini, you can admire the Bishop’s Palace (also known as the Borgia Palace since the pope gave it to Cardinal Rodrigo Borgia) and the House of the Canons, currently home to the Cathedral Museum.

8 Diocesan Museum of Sacred Art of Pienza

The diocesan museum of sacred art of Pienza was established at the beginning of the twentieth century as the Cathedral Museum to display, in the canons’ house, works from the Cathedral Treasury. It was reopened on May 7, 1998, as a diocesan museum.

9 Tepotratos Museum of Monticchiello, Pienza

The long history of the Teatro Povero di Monticchiello, developed over more than forty years of activity, gave rise to the very peculiar structure of TEPOTRATOS: artistic-museum installations through which not only traditional theatre, but also the world and peasant culture that generated it, attempt to project themselves into the future. This is the meaning of the large overturned oak tree, with its roots in the sky, placed at the center of the exhibition. This is how tradition and progress, chronologically and culturally distant realities, merge into an interactive and multimedia show, where modern technology, arts and crafts become the link by which that past world approaches today’s spectacle. From microchips flow the songs of the maggiaioli and those of the bruscello, films of the Teatro Povero, the epiphany plays, the torches, the Sega la vecchia come to life… peasant craftsmanship and a vast collection of old work tools. From that work, refined sculptures that speak to us of the changes that have occurred in these lands that were and for the most part still are inseparably linked to generations of farmers, are encountered as works of art. Evidence of this bond is the structure itself in which TEPOTRATOS rises, once the granary of the largest farm that gathers the estates in Monticchiello, today reclaimed by the community thanks to the Teatro Povero.

10 Corso Rossellino

The main road axis of the urban plan of Pienza is the current Corso Rossellino, along which there are many examples of fine civil architecture bearing the names of noble families such as Ammannati, Gonzaga, and Jouffroy. Along the Corso, there is also the 13th-century Church of San Francesco, in a sober Franciscan Gothic style. Finally, Corso Rossellino is also the shopping street, with numerous shops selling typical local products, foremost among them pecorino cheese.

11 What to Eat in Pienza

The Pietina cuisine is very diverse and rooted in local traditions. Not to be missed are the “bistecca alla fiorentina“, croissants with liver, the cold cuts and cheeses of the area, like the famous “pecorino di Pienza“. Also common, as in other areas of Tuscany, are dishes based on game meat.

12 Where to sleep in Pienza

Pienza offers several hospitality options. As in the rest of Tuscany, Pienza offers both hotel accommodations and extra-hotel facilities. Sleeping in Pienza can have a variable cost depending on the type and the tourist offer.