Red Travel - Italia in Ferrari

Pienza

Fascinating little medieval towns untouched by time lie on Tuscany's horizon or hide behind its green hills. One of these is Pienza, a silent tableau of the Renaissance.

In the middle of the 15th century, Silvio Piccolomini, then Pope Pius II, decided to transform his birthplace into an ideal Renaissance town. The result was Pienza's white stone cathedral, Plazzo Piccolomini with its fine courtyard, Palazzo Borgia and a graceful Piazza.

The death of both the pope and the architect in 1464 meant that the project was never completed. What they achieved, however, has survived virtually intact to make Pienza the fascinating place it is today.