To visit Pienza today is to step into the late 15th century. Located in the heart of the picturesque Val d’Orcia region of Tuscany, known for its rolling hills lined with rows of cypresses, it constitutes a remarkable example of an ideal Renaissance city. The pre-existing town on the site, Corsignano, was fully rebuilt under the patronage of Pope Pius II, transforming this small hilltop town in the countryside southeast of Siena.
Following his election to the papacy, the learned Pius II sought to elevate the status of his humble hometown through an ambitious project of urban renewal overseen by architect Bernardo Rossellino, a follower of Leon Battista Alberti. Starting in 1459, Rossellino began the construction of the Palazzo Piccolomini, the pope’s private palace, built in a classicizing style, and the Cathedral of Santa Maria Assunta, combining classical and Gothic elements, its interior adorned with a series of gilded altarpieces by Giovanni di Paolo, Matteo di Giovanni, Sano di Pietro, and Vecchietta. These and other structures surround a central square, in an arrangement that corresponds to the utopian notion of the ideal city, which is also reflected in a series of enigmatic Renaissance paintings of unknown authorship, although they have been variously attributed to Piero della Francesca, Francesco di Giorgio Martini, Paolo Uccello, Luciano Laurana, Melozzo da Forlì, and Fra Carnevale.
Art historian Sophia D’Addio of Columbia University offers an illustrated exploration of the history, art, architecture, and urban planning of Pienza, which glorified the ambitions of its illustrious patron.
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