| The small Italian hill town of Corsignano,
located south of Siena, was the birthplace of Silvius Aeneas
Piccolomini in 1406. In 1459 he returned to Corsignano as Pope
Pius II and influenced by the gifted humanist scholar
Alberti decided to reconfigure the town's center according
to the latest Renaissance approaches to urban design and architecture.
Renamed Pienza in honor of Pius, the town was transformed with the addition of four major buildings around a main piazza and a number of other, smaller buildings, including workers' housing. The piazza is centered on a cathedral whose facade reflects contemporary interest in renewing the application of the classical orders in the manner of ancient Rome while its interior plan and construction reflects the sober Gothic style Silvius had encountered during a sojourn in Austria. Flanking the cathedral left and right are a Bishop's Palace and the Palazzo Piccolomini, respectively. The latter is strikingly similar to the Palazzo Rucellai in Florence designed by Alberti. The Palazzo Piccolomini, designed by Rosselino, rises three stories, each decorated with pilasters and full entablatures. The side facing a garden and views into the valleys and hillsides beyond is covered by three columned porticos. Rosellino also designed the fourth building on the piazza, the town hall, which has a grand portico of Ionic columns. Pienza is considered to be the earliest complete example of Renaissance town planning. |
PIENZA
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