CENTRAL TUSCANY - Florence and Tuscany - page 217

commission a new centre in
Corsignano and rename it
Pienza in his own honour. He
planned to transform his
birthplace into a model
Renaissance town, but the
grand scheme never pro-
gressed beyond the handful
of buildings around the Piazza
Pio II. The architect Bernardo
Rossellino was commissioned
to build a Duomo, papal
palace and town hall, which
were finished in three years.
Subsequently Rossellino was
caught embezzling papal
funds, but Pius II forgave him
because he was so delighted
with his new buildings.
The isolated monastery of
Sant'Anna in Camprena with its
wondeful frescoes painted by
Sodoma is nearby. The original
monastery dates from the 13th
century, however the present
building is 16th century.

P

Palazzo Piccolomini
Piazza Pio II. Tel [phone].
# 10am-1pm, 2-6:30pm Tue-Sun

(guided tours only).

mid-Nov-
early Dec & mid-Feb-early Mar.

¢

&
The palazzo is next door to the
Duomo and was home to Pius
II's descendants until 1968.
Rossellino's design for the
building was influenced by
Leon Battista Alberti's Palazzo
Rucellai in Florence (see p104) .
The apartments open to the
public include Pius II's bed-
room and library, which are
full of his belongings. At the
rear of the palazzo there is an
arcaded courtyard and a triple-
tiered loggia. The spectacular
view looks across the garden
and takes in the wooded
slopes of Monte Amiata.

The Terme di Bagno Vignoni
Bagno Vignoni 0
Road map D4. * 32. @ from

Siena. n 0577 88 73 65.

This is a tiny medieval spa
village which consists of a
handful of houses built round
a huge piazza containing an
arcaded, stone-lined pool.
Constructed by the Medici,
it is full of hot sulphurous
water which bubbles up to
the surface from the volcanic
rocks deep underground. The
healing quality of the water
has been known since
Roman times and,
according to legend,
famous people who
have sought a cure
in Bagno Vignoni
include St Catherine
of Siena (see p219)
and Lorenzo the
Magnificent (to relieve
his arthritis). The pool
is no longer open
for bathing but is
still well worth a visit
to admire the architecture.
Sulphur pools in the grounds
of the Posta Marcucci hotel
are open for swimming.

R

Duomo
Piazza Pio II.

daily.
The Duomo was built by the
architect Rossellino in 1459,
and is now suffering from
subsidence at its eastern
end. There are cracks
in the walls and floor
of the nave, but this
does not detract at all
from the splendid
Classical proportions
of this Renaissance
church. It is flooded
with light from the vast
stained-glass windows
requested by Pius II;
he wanted a domus
vitrea (literally “a house of
glass”) which would symbolize
the spirit of intellectual enlight-
enment of the Humanist age.

#

Courtyard in Palazzo Piccolomini

R

Pieve di Corsignano
Via delle Fonti. Tel [phone].
# by appt or through tourist office.

Pope Pius II was baptized in
this 11th-century Romanesque
parish church on the outskirts
of Pienza. It has an unusual
round tower and a doorway
decorated with flower motifs.

Coat of arms of
Pope Pius II

Pienza q
Road map E4.

Corso il Rossellino 59 (0578 74 90
71).

* 1,300. @ n

( Fri.

The centre of Pienza was
completely redesigned in
Renaissance times by Pope
Pius II (see p49) . Born here
in 1405, when it was called
Corsignano, Aeneas Sylvius
Piccolomini became known
as a leading Humanist scholar
and philosopher. He was
elected pope in 1458 and in
the following year decided to

Pienza's piazza and the town hall, viewed from the steps of the Duomo