Must-SeeSight · NeighborhoodFreeEvening

Pienza

A small hilltop town rebuilt by a pope as the ideal Renaissance city, above the Val d'Orcia.

Photo: https://www.flickr.com/people/sherseydc/ · CC BY-SA 2.0
Open
Always
Price
Free; paid for the Palazzo Piccolomini
Time Needed
2 hours
Address
Piazza Pio II, 53026 PienzaDirections
Getting There
About 15 minutes by car west of Montepulciano.

Why Go

Pope Pius II had his birthplace remade from 1459 to the latest ideas of town planning, around a harmonious square with the cathedral and the Palazzo Piccolomini, whose garden looks over the valley. Lanes with names like Love Street and Kiss Street lead to the walls, and shops sell the local pecorino.

Go Next

1–3 of 6
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Tuscany
About 0 miles away

A medieval brick city around the shell-shaped Piazza del Campo, home of the Palio.

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Florence

Tuscany
About 32 miles away

The cradle of the Renaissance, with the Uffizi, Michelangelo's David and Brunelleschi's dome.

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Worth a Detour
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Pisa

Tuscany
About 55 miles away

The Leaning Tower and its marble square, an easy stop from Florence.

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