Italy · Toscana · Historic villages
the pearl of the Val d'Orcia, between history, flavours and long views
In the heart of the Val d'Orcia, a UNESCO site, stands Pienza, a small town that embodies the very idea of the ideal Renaissance town. With its orderly streets, its pecorino shops and its postcard views, it is a stop not to be missed by anyone travelling by motorhome between Tuscany and Umbria.
Sleeping
Two very different options: one comfortable and central, the other set among the hills.
Via Mario Mencatelli 40, 53026 Pienza (SI)
the main reference point for anyone arriving by motorhome. Five minutes on foot from the centre, slightly uphill. It fills up early on high-season weekends.
a few marked motorhome bays, often taken by cars
Strada Comunale, 53026 Pienza (SI)
a rural setting among the Val d'Orcia hills, with the work of the farm going on around you and the estate's own produce. The choice for those who prefer the comforts of a campsite to a car park in town.
Getting around
Seeing
Five stops inside the ideal town, all a few minutes from one another. Tap a marker on the map to open its entry below.
Square · free entry · 43.07655, 11.67893
the heart of the town and one of the purest realisations of Renaissance town-planning ideals. Designed by Bernardo Rossellino for Pope Pius II, Enea Silvio Piccolomini, around 1462. A trapezoidal plan and herringbone brick paving. Facing it in perfect perspective are the Cathedral of the Assumption, the town hall with its tower, Palazzo Piccolomini and Palazzo Borgia.
Monument · paid entry · 43.07659, 11.67845
the former papal residence, the emblem of the Renaissance in Pienza, next to the cathedral. Rossellino designed it after the Palazzo Rucellai in Florence: a rusticated facade and a three-tier loggia that opens, revolutionarily for its time, onto the landscape. Inside, a house-museum with its original furnishings and a hanging garden among the first of the Renaissance.
Church · free entry · 43.07613, 11.67881
the cathedral of Santa Maria Assunta, the pivot of the ideal-town project. A facade of pale travertine framed by pilasters, crowned with the Piccolomini papal coat of arms. The interior, on a Latin cross plan, follows German Gothic taste: three naves of equal height, airy and full of light, against the severity of the outside. It holds Sienese altarpieces of the fifteenth century.
Walk · free entry · 43.07702, 11.67787
the pedestrian street that forms the backbone of the old town, from the gate to the Renaissance heart. Craft workshops and above all the local food: the pecorino of Pienza and the pork butchers. From here open the alleys with the names of love, via del Bacio and via dell'Amore.
Viewpoint · free entry · 43.07618, 11.68027
not one spot but a series of openings from the town walls and the gardens of the centre, above all along via del Casello and from Palazzo Piccolomini. The hills fall away towards Monte Amiata, dotted with cypresses and farmhouses. At dawn and at sunset it is the view that made Pienza famous.
When
the best known festival in Pienza, with pecorino tastings and the traditional game of the cheese and the spindle in the square.
the old town turns into a garden spread across the streets, perfect for anyone who likes taking photographs and walking among the colours.
Remember
Pienza · part two
and then?
What to do, what to taste, and where to go tomorrow.
What we did starting from here, ordered by driving time.
The most typical dish, to cook again at home.
The next stop, ordered by driving time.
Distances and times by road, measured with OSRM on OpenStreetMap data.
Looking
6 shots from our visit. Tap one to see it large.
