Pictured is the coat of arms of the House of Piccolomini in the central courtyard of the Piccolomini Palace in Pienza, Italy. The shield has five crescents on a cross. The palace, also known as the Pontifical, was commissioned by Enea Piccolomini, or Pope Pius II, to Italian Renaissance sculpture Bernardo Rossellino, as part of the project for the reconstruction of Pienza as the ideal city. It was designed in the second half of the 15th century. The building is now a museum, where you can visit the ancient hall of arms, Pius II's study, bedchambers, the art and sculpture collection he built.
|