Architectures
Crowning point of Renaissance architecture in the Sienese territory is the transformation of Pope Pius II Piccolomini’s birthplace, Corsignano in Val d’Orcia, into a miniature renaissance city, renamed Pienza in honour of its patron and creator. Built by Bernardo Rosselino by means of the formal classical style, Pienza shows ideal forms both in its rigorous street planning and its buildings: the cathedral and the Palazzo Piccolomini above all others which are equipped with ornamental elements in line with what had been theorized in the “De Re Aedificatoria” by Leon Battista Alberti.In Siena we find examples of late-classicism in the church of San Sebastiano in Vallepiatta, the Basilica dell’Osservanza, and the church of Santo Spirito, these last two were commissioned by the city’s ruler, Pandolfo Petrucci.
Extraordinary example of late-Renaissance architecture is the Temple of San Biagio in Montepulciano built to designs planned by Antonio da Sangallo.
