By Lisa T. Bergren

We’ve been circumventing her perimeter for days now, and can see her in the distance from our villa, Terre di Nano. But today is the first time we’re setting out, solely to tour the ancient city of the pope, once called Corsignano, but renamed in honor of his holiness’ presence, Pienza.

We park on the far side of the city, where neighborhoods meet the tourist zone. Pienza sports more touristy shops on her main drag and we drop into a few of them–picking up jars of pesto, olive wood spoons, a few linens and other gifts–but my favorite stop is a tiny hardware store with items packed haphazardly from floor to ceiling and a proprietor that speaks only a few words of English. Tim’s glasses are nearing disaster status and so we’re in search of Super Glue. By showing the shopkeeper the glasses, Tim scores Italy’s version: SuperAttak. We’re gold.

We bop into the first church we see, and find the most interesting aspect is the modern liturgical furniture, with bronze vines swirling to hold a pulpit and a massive, three part altar that appears to be actual hunks of stone. We move on to the Palazzo Piccolomini (pope’s palace), the main thing to see in Pienza, but the English tour is an hour off. So we tour the Duomo (church) built in 1459—one of the nicest we’ve seen in Italy, noted for its Classical proportions and lovely light. Pope Pius II scored his desired domus vitrea (“house of glass”) here, and even though its eastern end is suffering, it’s highly worth a stop.

Extreme Renaissance Makeover

Pope Pius was born in this town, and became a leading Humanist scholar and philosopher (thus his desire for the duomo to be a “house of light”). When he became pope in 1458, he resolved to “make over” his hometown into the model Renaissance city, beginning with the commissioning of a new city center. He hoped to redo the whole of it, but never got much farther than the buildings that surround the Piazza Pio II. Rossellino, an architect, was hired to design the duomo, palazzo and town hall–all were completed within three years–and the pope was so happy with the result that even though Rossellino was caught embezzling, he was forgiven.

Waiting in the Wings

Our English tour of the palazzo is an hour away (you purchase tickets in the bookstore), so we meander toward the western edge of town and discover a lovely walkway with terrific views over the valley—and a couple of enotecas (wine bars) along the way. We find a stone bench and I listen to a couple of obnoxious, loud Americans chatter away while Tim goes to retrieve a couple of glasses of chianti for us. I pray the Americans will wander away, but they don’t, talking on and on about a terrible restaurant they went to the day before and the search for gluten-free food in the land of pasta. I’m thinking it’s not that hard...but then I’m not a celiac and I have my own kitchen at the villa.

We move back to the piazza and sit on white, cold steps, waiting for the last ten minutes to go by. Some Italian teens wander in, flirting and cavorting and seemingly totally unaware that they do so under the shadow of a Renaissance clock tower, or on stones laid beneath them five centuries before. But then, this is Italy. It is hardly uncommon to tread upon streets and stones that have been in place for even longer.

The Palazzo Piccolomini

Our tour of the palazzo begins, and we are in the company of a couple from Canada. The tour guide moves too quickly and is too brusque for my taste, speaking rapidly and rushing us from one room to the next, but fortunately, my 2nd and 3rd favorite stops are in the courtyard and gardens of the amazing building, where we are given unlimited time on either end of the tour. My1st favorite stop is a place I wish we could stay for an hour–the pope’s personal loggia (porch). From this height (2nd floor of a triple-tier), he commanded an amazing view of the valley, up over the garden trees and beyond, all the way to Mt. Amiata.

Inside, there are some pretty spectacular artifacts, owing to the fact that ancestors of the pope lived in the palace up until the 1960s, and did their best to preserve what they could. The best rooms are the pope’s library and bedroom, which house many of these prizes. (Ex. Have you ever seen a wooden lemon juicer from the 15th century?) Our guide shows us a tiny closet of a room with a bed and table, hidden away to one side of the fireplace. “To keep him warm at night,” she says.

We ask a question about some artwork and our guide chastises us for referring to Mary as the Virgin Mary. “In Italy, we consider that vulgar,” she says. “We call her Holy Mother.” Good to know, we think, eyebrows raised at her vehemence. What? Is it the vague reference to the woman’s sexuality–or lack thereof–that has them all hot and bothered? The importance is lost on us, but we’re not anxious to cross that cultural line again (see how to Not be That Obnoxious American Tourist tips above).

In one hallway, the guide points to a sign, detailing the Nazis’ claim upon the palace, anything in it, and the severe repercussions for anyone who steals from it; after the occupying forces left at the end of WWII, the signs remained. Curators believe that it’s only because of those signs that all the priceless artifacts were not looted.

Our tour comes to an end and Tim and I spend some time in the gardens and bookshop, then head home to the villa, Terre di Nano. Tonight, we are roasting Brussels sprouts and steaks, with a side of gnocchi and pesto. And we want to see the sunset, from beginning to end, even if we have to do so while huddled beneath wool blankets.

Have you been to or stayed in or eaten in Pienza? Please comment below!

SEE OUR OTHER FIVE POSTS IN THIS SERIES:

READ PART 1: Umbria and Orvieto

READ PART 2: Monticchiello

READ PART 3: Montalcino

READ PART 4: Pitigliano and Saturnia

READ PART 5: Pienza

READ PART 6: Montepulciano