Perfect Pienza

Pienza, high on a hill above the Val d’Orcia in glorious Tuscany, is the birth place in 1405 of Enea Silvio Piccolomini, who became Pope Pius II. The town was originally called Corsignano, but Pope Pius was keen to create a monument to himself. Pienza means “City of Pius” and was chosen as a good omen. The Pope chose Florentine architect Bernado Rossellino to recreate the perfect city as ” a lasting sign of his origin”.

The city was built around a central square. The Palazzo Comunale, the Piccolomini Palazzo, Palazzo Vescovile and the cathedral surround the square. The Piccolomini Palace, the former papal palace continued to be inhabitited by the Pope’s descendants until 1968.

The Cattedrale Santa Maria Assunta is a three-nave church with a very impressive interior.

 Make sure you take a look inside.

 Pienza is famous for pecorino cheese and the world’s luckiest sheep can be seen chewing grass on the beautiful hills surrounding the town. There are several specialist shops in the town selling cheese and other delicious delights from the area.

Pienza is a delightful little town with beautifully cared for streets and welcoming shops full of good things.

 We had lunch at Trattoria Latte di Luna at 2 Via San Carlo.

All of our meals were excellent, but I think I won with my maialino (suckling pig) with white beans.

After lunch we wandered through the pretty streets of Pienza. The town is quite small, but there is lots to see.

 Pienza is in a spectacular part of Tuscany – don’t miss it. The town is a realtively easy drive from Bagni di Lucca and we do it often. We usually go via Asciano because of the spectacular scenery and stop in Siena, Montalcino or Montepulciano as well.