01 - Pienza

By: Helen Rei Chiang, April Pierce, Karen Lo, Jenny Lee, Simon Shum

Building on the research conducted last year's research in Pienza concerning urban patterns, our project focused on the contemporary issues of the town and the demographic changes that are presently occurring within this classic, designed Renaissance town. Economic influences are shifting the countryside of Italy in new ways. In addition, we looked at how the hilltown's urban structure affects the people's relationship with the architecture and the countryside surrounding them. The famous Pecorino cheese is produced here, the best in Italy. It lies between Montalcino and its Brunello 20 kilometers to the West and Montepulcinao and its Vino Nobile twenty kilometers to the East in Tuscany's "Crete" region.

02 - Montepulciano

By: Rei Chiang, Alex Cotoranu, Robert White

Montepulciano and Chiusi are two prime examples of tuscan hilltowns that have adapted to the present. They have maintained their cultural identities despite the effects of increasing tourism, and the requirements of living in the 21st century. They are both mid-sized towns largely off the tourist grid. Chiusi is known for its outstanding Etruscan museum and tombs, Montepulciano for its wine economy - it is the center of the great "Vino Nobile" vineyards, one of Italy's great wines. Less tourism means less pressure to bend economically in that direction. More authenticity can be found - if one looks hard and stays a while!

03 - Pitigliano

By: Katrina Chua, Derek Pante, Azmina Karimi, Yosuke Shinto

Pitigliano is as far off the grid as one can get in Tuscany. One has to really want to go there. It's not on the way to anywhere else in particular. It is only accessed by at least two hours of winding single lane roads from Orvieto or Tarquinia. It is like a time-warp in so many ways because it is so isolated. Pitigliano has a long history dating back to Roman times but certainly since the late-Renaissance when it became a center for Jews fleeing Rome and the Ghetto. Today it is a center for organic agriculture and viniculture. Now old customs are beginning to chafe against new ideas and young people wanting to live in the country. A fascinating urbanism, that feels like a living M.C. Escher print to walk in.

04 - Siena

By: Brad Slavin, Morgan Taylor, Ryan Murray

Along with Pisa, Siena was the first of the cities of the Early Renaissance to develop in Tuscany. What happened here changed the world. The modern world was born here in so many ways, and the beauty of the medieval world ended. Both can be seen in Siena. Because of UNESCO World Heritage status, Siena remains a town stuck in its Early Renaissance moment. This is both inspiring and stifling. Mass tourism is a distraction to be overcome. The biggest sense of liveliness in the old historic center emanates from the importance of Siena as a University town. We concluded that to get a sense of the more contemporary Siena, one would have to get off the hilltop and into the town below surrounding the city. Still, the patterns here are deeply embedded and that in of itself is worth study.