Pienza

Pienza, a spot of eternity, the town dreamt and willed into being by Pious II Piccolomini, meant to be a place of peace, with an inner and not only architectural harmony. A "machine of serenity", a square small but rich in spaces, effects, the heart of the ideal city. Maybe all this is contained in one Latin word, Concinnitas, as Cicero defined a synthesis of elegance, symmetry, consistency of the whole with its parts. The author of this masterpiece on the edge of the Val d'Orcia was Bernardo Gambarelli, called Rossellino, who had taken part in Rome in that huge campaign of reconstruction imbued with Florentine culture brought by Noccolo' V with Alberti, Brunelleschi and Donatello.
This square in the heart of the perfect city is really a glimpse of paradise, a music, a search for perfection, due to exact proportions, and harmony of lines: philosophy as much as architecture. Facing you is the the Assunta cathedral, on whose sides, through open spaces, you can see as far as the countryside and the valley.
On the left, Palazzo Piccolomini, with a courtyard and a perfectly preserved XIV century hanging garden. From the garden you can enjoy the view of the triple lodge of the palace, a good match, in grace and beauty, with the lovely landscape over the Val d’Orcia below. On the left is the Bishops’ palace. Opposite the cathedral, the Communal Palace, recalling the pattern of Tuscan public palaces, based on the matching of lodge and crenellated tower. Pienza is a rare example of organic planning, where nothing is left to chance, and is the realization of the “ideal city” cherished by the humanistic culture of the 15th century. Strolling in its streets you will find a peaceful, friendly atmosphere, even in everyday gestures, even in the cheese and wine beckoning from a thousand windows. Pious II’s “machine”does really still work.