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."Nicholas Adams, "The Acquisition of Pienza 1459-1464" The Journal of the Society of Architectural Historians 44.2 (May 1985), pp. 99-110. Adams details the piecemeal acquisition of parcels of land by Pius II.

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).

 Important Places and Monuments in Pienza 
 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

 References 




 Notes 

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

Category:Towns in Siena
Category:World Heritage Sites in Italy