Pienza was built on a village called Corsignano, which was the
birthplace (1405) of Aeneas Silvius Piccolomini, a Renaissance Humanist
born into an exiled Sienese family, who later became
Pope Pius II. Once become Pope, he had the entire village rebuilt as
an ideal Renaissance town - which has led some historians to dub Pienza
as the first "utopian" town. It represents the first application of
so-called humanist urban planning concepts, creating an impetus for
planning that was adopted in other Italian towns and cities and
eventually spread to other European centers.
The rebuilding work was done by Florentine architect Bernardo
Gambarelli (known as Rossellino) under the guidance of
Leon Battista Alberti, starting in about 1459. Pope
Pius II consecrated the Duomo, which sits across from the Piazza
Comunale on Pienza's main piazza, the Piazza Pio II, on August 29,
1462. The Palazzo Piccolomini, the Pope's family home (inspired to Florence's
Palazzo Rucellai), and the Palazzo Borgia (Palazzo Vescovile,
residence of Cardinal Rodrigo Borgia, later Pope as
Alexander VI) also front the piazza. Noteworthy is the internal
court of Palazzo Piccolomini, with a giardino all'Italiana preceded by a portico and sided by a
loggiato on two floors.
The travertine well on the Piazza carries the Piccolomini family
crest, and was widely copied in Tuscany during the following century.
Though most of the buildings are decidedly
Renaissance, the bell tower of the Duomo (Cathedral) has a
Germanic flavor as a result of Pope Pius' exposure to German
architecture before he ascended to the Papacy.
This can be seen also in the general Hallenkirche structure of the church; the facade, however, is purely
Renaissance. The interior has Latin cross plan, with a nave and two
aisles divided by high pilasters covered by semicolumns. Artworks include five
woods by Sienese School painters. Under the apse of church is the Baptistry (or San Giovanni), including part of the original
Romanesque edifice and resembling a crypt.
There is a brick bell tower on the Piazza Comunale, but it is shorter
than its religious counterpart, to symbolize the superior power of the
church. The tower is annexed to the Palazzo Pubblico, also
probably designed by Rossellino.
The Palazzo Borgia is home to the Diocesan Museum, and the Duomo
incorporates the Museo della Cattedrale. The Diocesan collection
includes local textile work as well as 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.
A sight of the main piazza of Pienza
Palazzo Pubblico (Communal Palace).
Facade of the Cathedral of Pienza.
The church of San Francesco, with a gabled facade and gothic
portal, is among the buildings that survived from the old Corsignano. It
is built on a pre-existing church that dated from the 8th century.
The
interior contains frescoes depicting the life of
Saint Francis, those on the walls having been painted by Cristofano
di Bindoccio and Meo di Pero, 14th century artists of the Senese school.
Other noteworthy buildings in Pienza include the Ammannati Palace,
the Gonzaga Palace and the Palazzo del Cardinale Atrebatense,
all built in the 15th century.
The Pieve of Corsignano, in the neighborhood, is one of the
most important Romanesque monuments of the area.
The frazione of Monticchiello is home to a characteristic Romitorio, a series of grottoes carved in the rock by hermits
monks.
Pienza gastronomy: cacio
Rather than milky-white or creamy-white, in Pienza its ‘cacio’ white.
A dream-town brought to life by its former inhabitant, Humanist Pope Pio
II, who transformed his poor village, with its privileged panorama over
Val d’Orcia, into a small architectural jewel. ‘Cacio’:
today a word abused by a thousand synonyms of ‘light’ or ‘creamy cheese’
along with numerous other alchemical concoctions unbeknownst to cows and
sheep.
Pienza’s ‘cacio’ pecorino (unimaginatively!) contains
just one ingredient: sheep’s milk.
The sole basis for a cheese of countless nuances of taste and smell
dependent on time of year - the meadow grass is continually in flux -
its maturity (it comes fresh, mature and even aged like a bottle of good
wine) and its type of manufacture, which means it can be served as it
is, preserved in walnut leaves, in bran, in ash and countless other
ways.
Each flavor unique: pungent or delicate, clean or scented, with one
element in common: its incomparable taste that many have attempted, in
vain, to replicate.
