ITALY ~ Pienza - Val d'Orcia - UNESCO ~

...Many lovely views of a small idyllic town in Tuscany...known as the "ideal city of the Renaissance"...and famous for  the best pecorino cheese in Italy.... Thanks once more Gian Luca and Raffaella !! (ˆ⌣ˆ)

Photo: Stefano Caporali
Pienza is a town and commune in the province of Siena, in the Val d'Orcia in Tuscany (central Italy), between the towns of Montepulciano and Montalcino.

Pienza was realized by the request of Pope Pius II (Enea Silvio Piccolomini), from whom the city’s name derives. Upon being named Pope in 1458, Pius began to dream up a new design for his native town, and entrusted his dream with Bernardo di Matteo Gambardelli, an apprentice of the famous architect and scientist Leon Battista Alberti. Construction on the city (between 1458 and 1462), comprised the ancient borgo of Corsignano; legend has it that a soldier from Sillano, called Corsinio, founded the original town.

In 1996, UNESCO declared the town a World Heritage Site, and in 2004 the entire valley, the Val d'Orcia, was included on the list of UNESCO's World Cultural Landscapes.

Stamp:

 Europa 2016 Ecology in Europe -Think Green celebrating Europa stamps 60th anniversary - 1956-2016
 (Issued 09-05-2016)