The Diocese of Pienza was a Roman Catholic diocese located in the town of Pienza in the province of Siena, in the Val d'Orcia in Tuscany between the towns of Montepulciano and Montalcino. Until 1462, the town was known as Corsignano. It took the name Pienza from its most famous native son, Pope Pius II, who elevated the town to the status of a city, and established the new diocese. The diocese existed as an independent entity from 1462 to 1772, directly subject to the Holy See.
History
The architect chosen to carry out Pius II's plans to construct Pienza was Bernardo Rossellino. The change in name of Corsignano was carried out by the Senate of Siena, at the suggestion of Pope Pius, on 1 June 1462. On 29 August 1462, the Feast of the cutting off of the head of John the Baptist, the completed cathedral was dedicated by Cardinal Guillaume d'Estouteville, Bishop of Ostia, though the Pope personally dedicated the high altar. The cathedral was named the Cathedral of the taking up of the body of the Virgin Mary into heaven. The edifice was damaged by the large earthquake of 26 November 1545, and the apse began to subside, a problem which persists to the present day. In April 1473, Bishop Tommaso della Testa Piccolomini presided over the first diocesan synod held in Pienza. On 23 May 1594, Pope Clement VIII separated the two dioceses of Pienza and Montalcino. On 15 June 1772, in the bull "Quemadmodum", Pope Clement XIV united the dioceses of Chiusi and Pienza.
Bishops
Diocese of Pienza e Montalcino
Erected: 13 August 1462 Latin Name: Pientia et Mons Ilcinus
Giovanni Chinugi
Tommaso della Testa Piccolomini
Agostino Patrizi de Piccolomini
Francesco Todeschini-Piccolomini
Girolamo Piccolomini
Girolamo Piccolomini
Diocese of Pienza
1528: Split into the Diocese of Pienza and the Diocese of Montalcino Latin Name: Pientinus
Chironi, Giuseppe, "Pius II and the Formation of the Ecclesiastical Institutions of Pienza," in: Z.R.W.M. von Martels, Arjo J. Vanderjagt, Pius II — 'El Pìu Expeditivo Pontifice': Selected Studies on Aeneas Silvius Piccolomini, pp. 171–185.
Greco, G., 'La diocesi di Pienza tra XVII e XVIII secolo', in: A. Cortonesi, La Val d'Orcia nel medioevo e nei primi secoli dell' eta moderna, pp. 447–490.
