Luxury holidays in Pienza
Pienza is famous for two things; Renaissance town planning and pecorino cheese – you can choose which is more impressive. In 1459, (early) Renaissance dream-team Pope Pius II and Bernardo Rossellino changed the fate of his humble hilltop town, transforming it into the first Renaissance city; it’s now a UNESCO World Heritage site. Almost 600 years on and Piazza Pio II, the Duomo and surrounding papal palaces are still attracting artists, historians and wide-eyed tourists from around the world. Foodies will know the city as the birthplace of pecorino cheese and home of the Fiera del Cacio – a very Italian cheese festival where locals compete in a cheese rolling competition: Pienza’s answer to boules.
When to go
Depending on how well you can handle the Tuscan heat, visit Pienza between May and September; it gets progressively hotter from May until temperatures reach highs of 30°C in July and August. Visit in the last week of August and first week of September to witness grown-men competitively roll cheese in the festival.