In the countryside of Tuscany is a charming and delightful town that changed Italy. From the small town of Pienza came Enea Silvio Piccolomini, the man who would be pope. At 53 years of age, Enea became the pope and that event changed Pienza. He wanted to transform Pienza into a Renaissance town, as a retreat from Rome. This was the birth of the idea of Renaissance urban planning, which spread throughout Europe. One of the most spectacular buildings of the new Pienza was the grand Cathedral. Pienza contains many of the old Renaissance buildings, and is a beautiful part of Tuscany.