• Travelsignposts Home
  • Country Guides
  • City Guides
  • River Cruises
  • Europe Photos
  • About Us

Italy Travel

  • Home
  • Trip Planner
  • Photos
  • Videos
  • Map
  • Weather
  • Site Map
  • Destinations
  • Shopping
  • Sightseeing
  • Food
  • Getting around
  • Useful facts
  • News & Events
You are here: Home / Destinations / Pienza – The Town that Pope Pius II Built

Pienza – The Town that Pope Pius II Built

By Helen Page Leave a Comment

  • Click to share on Facebook (Opens in new window)
  • Click to share on Twitter (Opens in new window)
  • Click to share on Pinterest (Opens in new window)
  • Click to share on LinkedIn (Opens in new window)

Pienza Was Pope Pius II’s Idea of the Perfect City:

Pienza Historical Centre

Corso Rossellino in Pienza

From our base in the spa town of Chianciano Terme, we took an excursion to Pienza, a small town in the Val d’Orcia in Tuscany. Pienza was Pope Pius II’s idea of the perfect Renaissance city and it is also famous for its pecorino cheeses.

Pienza and Pope Pius II

Pienza was a town that was conceived of by Pope Pius II. As a young man, Enea Silvio Piccolomini (Pope Pius II), was very well travelled and being a bright and curious individual, he found his way into

the humanism circles in many of the Italian cities that he visited. Piccolomini was a true Renaissance man, he became an expert in classical and legal matters, studied literature and was a much admired poet and a prolific writer. In one of the panels in the Piccolomini Library in Siena there is a painting of young Piccolomini being crowned as court poet by emperor Frederick III. He was also a respected diplomat and a great speaker.

Piccolomini then went on to pursue an ecclesiastical career and became a pope in 1458. It was during this time that he decided to endow his home village of Corsignano with new buildings and to make Pienza his summer court.  The fortified village of Corsignano was the perfect setting for his ideal Renaissance city (città ideale del Rinascimento) as it overlooks the wide-open spaces of Val d’Orcia. So, putting into practice the concept of Renaissance town-planning, Corsignano was transformed into the Renaissance town of Pienza, with the Piazza Pio II being the centre of town.  In terms of ground-breaking architecture, Pienza was the first Tuscan town where Renaissance town-planning was adopted.

Piazza Pio II, Pienza

Piazza Pio II, Pienza main square

Pienza Attractions

Today the town that Pope Pius II built is a UNESCO world heritage site and a tourist attraction. On the four sides of the small main square of Pienza (Piazza Pio II) are the main sights:

  • the Pienza Duomo or Cattedrale dell’Assunta containing paintings by renowned Sienese artists of the time. There’s also a nice statue of Pope Pius II in a reflective pose
  • the Palazzo Piccolomini was the Piccolomini residence. Its loggia looks out on to a small but beautiful garden. The loggia also offers panoramic views over Val d’Orcia
  • the Palazzo Comunale (Town Hall) and
  • the Palazzo Borgia

Corso Rossellino, Pienza

Corso Rossellino in Pienza

Pienza is a small town that can be easily explored on your own. The main street, Corso Rossellino, is full of cheese and wine shops and this is the place to try some pecorino cheese. The leather shop did a roaring trade from the ladies in our tour – everyone bought the same pair of shoes, but in different colours, it was quite funny to see. So, for whose who must shop, there is some shopping in Pienza.

Behind the Duomo is the belvedere with magnificent views of Val d’Orcia. Having arrived in the morning, we did have to wait for the thick fog to lift before we could see the valley.

When Pius II left for Ancona to launch his crusade, he left instructions that nothing is to be touched until his return. He died in 1464 and Pienza remained exactly as it was before Pius II’s death. Pienza may not have grown to a full town status but no doubt the Pope will be thrilled to know that his Pienza has what it takes to attract Hollywood here. Movie fans may be interested to know that scenes from the English Patient and Franco Zeffrelli’s Romeo & Juliet were filmed here.

Pienza Hotels

The two large hotels in the historical centre of Pienza are the Relais Il Chiostro di Pienza with 37 rooms and the Hotel Corsignano with 30 rooms. There are also a few small B&B places in central Pienza. Other accommodation types around Pienza include agriturismo farm houses. For the complete list of Pienza accommodation see Here.

How to Get Here

There is no train station in Pienza, but you can get here by bus from Siena and Montepulciano. If you’re based in Siena, you can join a Small-Group day tour of Montepulciano and Pienza.

See more Pienza photos at Travelsignposts Pienza album Here.

For more about Pienza, see our Pienza Trip Planner Here.

Click here to get a free PDF of this post

Does this help or do you have a problem with this?
  • Click to share on Facebook (Opens in new window)
  • Click to share on Twitter (Opens in new window)
  • Click to share on Pinterest (Opens in new window)
  • Click to share on LinkedIn (Opens in new window)

Related

Filed Under: Destinations Tagged With: agriturismo tuscany, pienza, pienza italy, pienza tuscany, pope pius ii, val d'orcia

avatar

About Helen Page

Helen Page is a prolific blogger and ardent traveller; she runs Travelsignposts with her professional writer and photographer husband Tony.

Leave a Reply Cancel reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

This site uses Akismet to reduce spam. Learn how your comment data is processed.

You can also find us on

  • Facebook
  • Google+
  • LinkedIn
  • Pinterest
  • Twitter
  • YouTube

Latest Additions

  • Giant Street Art adds spice to Rome’s Creative Scene
  • How to make Orecchiette pasta – The Favourite Ears of Puglia
  • Dinner in the Lair of a Giant Octopus!
  • Grandstand View of Il Campo, Siena
  • A Unique Tableware Find in Venice

Plan and Book Your Trip


eNews and Updates

feedburner Sign up now to get emailed news as well as other site updates!

Get the Guerrilla Travel Photography ebook here now!
City Guides
Country Guides
River Cruises

Who is behind Travelsignposts?

Helen and Tony Page at Singapore Changi Airport

We're Helen and Tony Page, and we love travelling - lucky as we've been doing it for the last few decades!

Tony has long been a professional photographer and writer, but Helen now writes most of the posts and takes a lot of photos herself!

Travelsignposts is our main travel planning site, but we've just launched Travelsignposts China and Tony also runs the Travelsignposts Photo and Guerrilla Travel Photography web sites, as well as publishing the Take Better Digital Photos and Guerrilla Travel Photography eBooks.

Read more about Helen and Tony or contact them.

Other Countries

  • Austria
  • Belgium
  • Bulgaria
  • Croatia
  • Czech Republic
  • Devon & Cornwall
  • England
  • Estonia
  • Europe (General)
  • Finland
  • France
  • Germany
  • Greece
  • Ireland
  • Netherlands
  • Norway
  • Portugal
  • Scotland
  • Spain
  • Switzerland
  • Turkey
  • Ukraine

Resources

  • Take Better Digital Photos eBook Take Better Digital Photos eBook
  • Take Better Digital Photos Free eCourse
  • Travel Signposts Photo – our main travel photography site
  • Guerrilla Travel Photography eBook Guerrilla Travel Photography eBook

Copyright © 2021 Travelsignposts Pty Ltd · All Rights Reserved | Privacy Policy   |   Terms of Service   |   Affiliate Disclaimer   |   Log in

Get a free PDF of this post!
Just enter your email address below and we'll send it to you immediately.

Please enter your Email Address