pienza
 
PIENZA , 11km west of Montepulciano, is as complete a Renaissance creation as any in Italy, established in an act of considerable vanity by Pope Pius II as a Utopian "New Town". The transformation of the village of Cortignano, where Pius was born, began in 1459 under the architect Bernardo Rossellino . The cost was astronomical, but the cathedral, papal and bishop's palaces, and the core of a town (renamed in Pius's honour) were completed in just three years. Pius lived just two more years, and of his successors only his nephew paid Pienza any regard: the city, intended to spread across the hill, stayed village-sized. Today, with a population of 2500, it still has an air of emptiness and folly - a natural stage set, where Zeffirelli filmed Romeo and Juliet .

Traffic converges on Piazza Dante , just outside the main gate, Porta al Murello, and from here the Corso leads straight to Rossellino's centrepiece, Piazza Pio II , which deliberately juxtaposes civic and religious buildings - the Duomo, Palazzo Piccolomini (papal palace), Bishop's Palace and Palazzo Pubblico - to underline the balance between Church and Town. The square makes the usual medieval nod to Florence in its town hall, but it is otherwise entirely Renaissance in conception.

The Duomo (daily 8am-1pm & 2.30-7.30pm) has one of the earliest Renaissance facades in Tuscany; the interior, on Pius's orders, took inspiration from the German hall-churches he had seen on his travels, and remains essentially Gothic. The chapels house an outstanding series of Sienese altarpieces, commissioned from the major painters of the age - Giovanni di Paolo, Matteo di Giovanni, Vecchietta and Sano di Pietro. How long the building itself will remain standing is uncertain. Even before completion a crack appeared, and after an earthquake last century it has required much buttressing - the nave currently dips crazily towards the back of the church. The airy crypt , with a separate entrance (Mon, Tues & Thurs-Sat 10am-noon & 3.30-5.30pm; L1500/¬0.77), displays some sixteenth-century tapestries. Pius's residence, the Palazzo Piccolomini , is alongside the duomo. You're free to walk into the courtyard and through to the original "hanging garden" behind to the left, with a triple-tiered loggia offering a superb view over the valley. The apartments above (Tues-Sun: summer 10am-12.30pm & 4-7pm; winter 10am-12.30pm & 3-6pm; L5000/¬2.58) include Pius II's bedroom, library and other rooms filled with collections of weapons and medals. Further mementos of the pope - notably his English-made embroidered cope - are across the piazza in the excellent Museo Diocesano (summer Mon & Wed-Sun 10am-1pm & 2-6.30pm; winter Sat & Sun 10am-1pm & 3-6pm; L8000/¬4.13).