Discover Pienza: Renaissance and the Val d’Orcia

Pienza combines a carefully planned Renaissance townscape with art collections and trails through the countryside. This gives your stay several possible focuses: you can explore the town’s history, the collections in its palaces or the area beyond the town centre.

Renaissance townscape and architectural history

Pienza’s historic centre was recognised as a UNESCO World Heritage Site in 1996. It retains its original Renaissance layout, with small squares, carefully designed sightlines and palaces set in relation to the surrounding landscape. Pienza is considered an ideal Renaissance town; in the 15th century, Piccolomini guided its urban planning decisions. The town can therefore be explored not only through individual buildings, but also through the arrangement of its squares and sightlines.

The Duomo di Pienza, the Cathedral of Santa Maria Assunta, was designed by Bernardo Rossellino and consecrated in 1462. The small, terraced Renaissance garden at Palazzo Piccolomini also brings architecture and landscape together: Pope Pius II Piccolomini commissioned it from Bernardo Rossellino, and from there the garden looks out over the entire Val d’Orcia.

Art and history in the museums

The collections offer a variety of highlights. The Diocesan Museum in Palazzo Borgia houses an extensive collection of sacred art, including paintings, altarpieces, wooden sculptures, tapestries and goldsmiths’ work. On the first floor of Palazzo Piccolomini, a museum with historic furnishings documents the close connection between Pienza’s history and the Piccolomini family. Check current opening hours before your visit.

The Museo Archeologico di Pienza offers a different focus: its Etruscan collection comprises more than 500 items, most of which date from the Archaic period and come from the necropolis of Borghetto di Pienza. The range therefore extends from sacred art and historic furnishings to archaeological finds.

Trails beyond the town centre

Just beyond the town centre, trails pass through broad, gently rolling valleys with cultivated fields, hills and white gravel roads. The transition from the built-up Renaissance centre to this open countryside offers a different view of Pienza and its surroundings.

The Via Barlettaia route is suitable for moderately fit cyclists. It follows quiet gravel roads through vineyards. If you are choosing between walking trails and a bike ride, the options described mainly differ in how you travel and the scenery: here, you’ll find valleys, fields and hills; there, vineyards along a cycling route.

Pecorino and the Fiera del Cacio

The Fiera del Cacio held its 63rd edition in 2025. The festival is organised by the Pro Loco and the Contrade and usually runs for about a week. If you’d like to combine your trip with the festival, check the dates for the relevant edition.

The Fiera includes the Gioco del cacio al fuso, a game of skill in which players try to roll a wheel of Pecorino as close as possible to a target fixed in the middle of the square. The festival programme also includes demonstrations of Pecorino cheese-making; the specific programme may vary from one edition to another.

La Taverna del Pecorino in Pienza offers tastings and sells Pecorino cheese, salami, extra virgin olive oil and balsamic vinegar. Check what is on offer again before your trip if you’re planning a tasting or a purchase.

Discover more destinations

Discover more destinations: Castelluccio, Monticchiello, Corsignano, Monteroni D'arbia, Badiaccia A Montemuro, Scalvaia, Torri, Chianciano Terme.

Return to the main travel overview: Siena.