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Pope Pius II and his ideal City
In 1405 Enea Silvio was born of the noble Piccolomini family in the medieval fortified village of Corsignano. His family, which had long played an active political and economic role in Siena, had been forced to take exile in Val d'Orcia in the mid-1300s.
Young Enea soon proved to be bright, curious and an avid traveller. He quickly cund his way into the humanistical circles in numerous Italian cities, including Siena, Florence, Padua, Ferrara and Milan. He then explored Europe's foremost intellectuals: the Council of Basel, the Imperial court and the Roman court. A true Renaissance mar he became an expect in classical and legal matters, studied literature, wrole poetry, was a respected diplomat and an exquisite speaker. At forty, having already enjoyed an intense and exciting life, he undertook a brilliant ecclesiastical career and was soon appointed bishop of Trieste, then of Siena, then Cardinal, and finally pope in 1458, when he assumed the name Pius II. The new pope was an adamant admirer of natural beauty and vestiges of antiquity

The humanistic ideal of reviving classical culture and creating a new harmony between nature and history seemed within reach. Pius II always remained enamoured of his childhood home, of the wide-open spaces in Val d'Orcia and Monte Amiata, which he rendered so poetically in his "Commentarii". He decide that Corsignano should serve as a loboratory where the ideal city might become a reality. Thus, thanks to "the fondeness" in his heart and his dream of perfection" (as described by the Italian poet Giovanni Pascoli) Pienza was born as Pope Pius' ideal city. It was the outcome of the Pope's dream, Leon Battista Alberti's theories and the plan drawn up by Rossellino during just over three years, from 1459 to 1462

To reach us: BY TRAIN - Chiusi railway station BY CAR - From North A1 Motorway Valdichiana exit; from South A1 Motorway Chiusi Chianciano Terme exit FROM ROME BY CAR FROM BOLOGNA BY CAR COMPLETE MAP BY PLANE - "Amerigo Vespucci" Airport - Florence