Pienza

**Pienza**, a town  (it: _commune_) in the province of Siena, in the Val d'Orcia in Tuscany (central Italy), between the towns of Montepulciano and Montalcino, is the "touchstone of Renaissance urbanism."

In 1996, UNESCO put the town his list as a World Heritage Site, and in 2004 the all valley, the _Val d'Orcia_, was put on the list of UNESCO's World Cultural Landscapes.

## History

Pienza was rebuilt from a village called **Corsignano**, which was the birthplace (1405) of Aeneas Silvius Piccolomini (Italian: Enea Silvio Piccolomini), a Renaissance humanist born into an exiled Sienese family, who later became Pope Pius II.  Once he became Pope, Piccolomini had the entire village rebuilt as an ideal Renaissance town.  Intended as a retreat from Rome, it represents the first application of humanist urban planning concepts.The rebuilding was done by Florentine architect Bernardo Gambarelli (known as Bernardo Rossellino).

### Palazzo Piccolomini

The piazza is made by four buildings. The principal residence, _Palazzo Piccolomini_, is on the west side.

### The Duomo

The _Duomo_ (Cathedral), which dominates the center of the piazza, has a façade that is one of the earliest designed in the Renaissance manner. Artworks in the Duomo include five altar paintings from the Sienese School. The Baptistry, dedicated as usual to _San Giovanni_.

### Palazzo Borgia

The _Palazzo Borgia_, on the third side of the piazza, was built as the palace to house the bishops who would travel to Pienza to attend the Pope. Inside the palace there is the Diocesan Museum, and the Museo della Cattedrale.  The collection includes a lot of religious artifacts. Paintings include a 7th-century painting of _Christ on the Cross_ (_La Croce_), 14th century works by Pietro Lorenzetti (_Madonna with Child_) and Bartolo di Fredi (_Madonna della Misericordia_).  There are also important works from the 14th and 15th centuries, including a Madonna attributed to Luca Signorelli.

### Palazzo Comunale

Across from the church is the town hall. Since Corsigniano was originally a village without a town governance, before the transformations there was no town hall. But when Corsigniano was given the status of an official city, a _Palazzo Comunale_ was required. A third floor was added in 1599. The _Palazzo Comunale_ was probably also designed by Rossellino.

### Other buildings

- _Ammannati_ Palace
- The _Gonzaga_ Palace
- The _Palazzo del Cardinale Atrebatense_
- The _Pieve_ of Corsignano, in the neighbourhood, is one of the most important Romanesque monuments of the area.

## Related pages

- Province of Siena

## Other websites

- Piazza Pio II
- Hometown Pope Makes Good (Pope Pius II and Pienza) by Charles T. Downey (Ionarts, 24 August 2006)

## Infobox (unesco world heritage site)

- **child**: yes
- **official name**: Historic Centre of the City of Pienza
- **criteria**: (i)(ii)(iv)
- **id**: 789
- **year**: 1996


## Infobox (italian comune)

- **name**: Pienza
- **official name**: Comune di Pienza
- **image skyline**: Pienza view.jpg
- **image shield**: Pienza-Stemma.svg
- **region**: Tuscany
- **province**: Province of Siena, Siena (SI)
- **frazioni**: Cosona, La Foce, Monticchiello, Palazzo Massaini, Spadaletto
- **mayor**: Manolo Garosi
- **area total km2**: 122.96
- **population total**: 2091
- **population as of**: 28 February 2017
- **population demonym**: Pientini
- **elevation m**: 491
- **saint**: St. Andrew the Apostle
- **day**: November 30
- **postal code**: 53026
- **area code**: 0578