Entrance Ticket to Palais Piccolomini

Description

The Palazzo Piccolomini in Pienza, summer residence of Enea Silvio Piccolomini, Pope Pius II, is one of the first examples of Renaissance architecture.

The Palazzo Piccolomini was built in 1459 by famed architect Bernardo Rossellino, student of Leon Battista Alberti. Recent major restorations have brought the Palazzo Piccolomini back to its original splendor, both inside and out.

The Piccolomini family lived in the palace until 1962 when it was transferred to the Ente morale di Siena Società di Esecutori di Pie Disposizioni.

Today, the Palazzo Piccolomini forms an integral part of the historical center of Pienza, one of the best preserved in Tuscany. The architectural complex represents the realization of Pius II’s ambitious humanist project for Pius II’s “ideal city” of Pienza.

The true architectural theme of the Palazzo Piccolomini is its relationship with nature and the landscape: enjoy the extraordinary view of the Val d\'Orcia and the Monte Amiata from the rear portico. The first hanging garden of the Renaissance, enclosed by walls and with a well in the center, is central to this breathtaking panorama.

The location lends this place “a symbolic, architectural, and blissful value, one of harmonious life amidst nature” (from “Pienza, City of Pius” by Jan Pieper).

The architectural structure of the ground floor is characterized by rooms arranged around the inner courtyard. Several exhibition stations illustrate Pius II’s ambitious humanist project for the ideal city he sought to create.

The first floor is the “noble floor”, where the hallways open onto the dining room, the music room, the study, the weapons room, the library, and several bedrooms, including one used by Enea himself. Time seems to stand still here among antiques of the period, paintings, and objets d\'art.