Palazzo Comunale, Renaissance palace in Pienza, Italy

Palazzo Comunale is the town hall of Pienza, a small town in Tuscany, and sits directly on Piazza Pio II, the central square. Its travertine facade opens onto the square through a triple-arched portico resting on Ionic columns, above which a tall terracotta bell tower rises.

The building was constructed in the 15th century as part of Pope Pius II's plan to transform his birthplace, the village of Corsignano, into a new town he named Pienza. The architect Bernardo Rossellino designed it alongside the cathedral and the bishop's palace to form a unified group of buildings around the main square.

The Council Chamber holds a 15th-century Sienese-school fresco of the Madonna and Child with Pienza's patron saints Vito, Modesto and Matteo. Inside the portico, the facade carries graffiti and stone coats of arms of the Podestà who resided here, along with those of Pius II Piccolomini, the province and the comune.

The palazzo sits at the center of Piazza Pio II and is easy to reach on foot from anywhere in the town. Since it still functions as an active town hall, not all rooms are always open to visitors, but the portico and the exterior can generally be seen freely.

The portico walls carry stone coats of arms of the Podestà who resided here, the officials who governed Pienza in the name of the pope, alongside the arms of Pius II Piccolomini, the province and the comune. Look also for the graffiti decorating the facade inside the portico.