It was in this Tuscan town that Renaissance town-planning concepts were first put into practice after Pope Pius II decided, in 1459, to transform the look of his birthplace. He chose the architect Bernardo Rossellino, who applied the principles of his mentor, Leon Battista Alberti. This new vision of urban space was realized in the superb square known as Piazza Pio II and the buildings around it: the Piccolomini Palace, the Borgia Palace and the cathedral with its pure Renaissance exterior and an interior in the late Gothic style of south German churches.
UNESCO World Heritage Site
Historic Centre of the City of Pienza
It was in this Tuscan town that Renaissance town-planning concepts were first put into practice after Pope Pius II decided, in 1459, to transform the look of his birthplace. He chose the architect Bernardo Rossellino, who applied the principles of his mentor, Leon Battista Albert
Collections featuring Historic Centre of the City of Pienza
More UNESCO sites in Italy
- 18th-Century Royal Palace at Caserta with the Park, the Aqueduct of Vanvitelli, and the San Leucio Complex
- Arab-Norman Palermo and the Cathedral Churches of Cefalú and Monreale
- Archaeological Area and the Patriarchal Basilica of Aquileia
- Archaeological Area of Agrigento
- Pompeii, Herculaneum and Torre Annunziata
- Assisi, the Basilica of San Francesco and Other Franciscan Sites
- Botanical Garden (Orto Botanico), Padua
- Castel del Monte