Brief history of Montepulciano
Montepulciano’s rise to eminence began in 1511, when the town finally threw in its lot with Florence rather than Siena. The Florentines thereupon sent Antonio Sangallo the Elder to rebuild the town’s gates and walls, which he did so impressively that the council took him on to work on the town hall and a series of churches. The local nobles meanwhile hired Sangallo, his nephew Antonio Sangallo the Younger, and later the Modena-born Vignola, a founding figure of Baroque, to work on their own palazzi. Totally assured in conception and execution, this trio’s work makes a fascinating comparison with Rossellino’s Pienza.
Top image: Piazza Grande, a main square in Montepulciano © Viliam M./Shutterstock