Det beste av Pienza

Pienza Essentials

Pope Pius II rebuilt his birthplace in the 1460s as a model Renaissance town, and its centre around Piazza Pio II is a UNESCO World Heritage Site. This list covers the square and the palaces and cathedral that frame it, the Romanesque Pieve di Corsignano where the pope was baptised, and the famous countryside sights nearby: the Vitaleta chapel, the walled village of Monticchiello and the gardens of La Foce.

Oschirmer / cc-by-sa-3.0

A

Piazza Pio II

Pienza's main square, laid out by Bernardo Rossellino for Pope Pius II and framed by the cathedral, Palazzo Piccolomini, Palazzo Borgia and the town hall.

41099823@N00 / cc-by-sa-2.0

B

Palazzo Piccolomini

The papal residence of Pius II, begun in 1459, with period rooms, a three-storey loggia and a hanging garden that looks out over the Val d'Orcia.

Pufui Pc Pifpef I / cc-by-sa-4.0

C

Pienza Cathedral

Rossellino's bright Renaissance cathedral, consecrated in 1462, with a travertine facade and altarpieces by leading Sienese painters.

Konrad Marx konrad / cc0

D

Cappella della Madonna di Vitaleta

A small stone chapel alone in the fields between Pienza and San Quirico d'Orcia, framed by cypress trees and one of the most photographed views in Tuscany.

Vignaccia76 / cc-by-sa-4.0

E

Pieve di Corsignano

A Romanesque country church just below the town with a round bell tower, where Pope Pius II and Pope Pius III were baptised.

Vignaccia76 / cc-by-sa-3.0

F

Palazzo Borgia and Diocesan Museum

The former bishop's palace on the main square, now a museum of sacred art with Sienese paintings, Flemish tapestries and a rare medieval English embroidered cope.