Town of Pienza in Tuscany, Italy Sep 28, 2025

Some towns evolve slowly over centuries. Pienza? It received a full rebrand in the 1400s from a pope who wanted to prove a point—and maybe show off a little. This tiny Italian town is perched above the Val d"Orcia, surrounded by rolling hills that look exactly like you think Tuscany should: cypress trees, winding dirt roads, the occasional sheep. It"s peaceful. And then you step inside the town walls, and it gets clever.

© zpagistock/Getty Images

palette

Today in History

Sep 28, 2023Container ship near a commercial port in Thailand
Sep 28, 2024Gulf Islands National Seashore, Florida, USA

More Desktop Wallpapers:

Feb 8, 2025Medieval towers in Mestia, Upper Svaneti, Georgia
May 16, 2025Great green macaw, Mexico
Mar 23, 2025Lightning and storm clouds at sunset near Bowman, Nebraska, United States
Oct 16, 2023Golden larches and Prusik Peak, Enchantments, Washington, USA
Sep 30, 2024Walruses in Svalbard, Norway
Jan 10, 2025Abraham Lake, Alberta, Canada
Nov 9, 2024Aït Benhaddou, Morocco
Dec 16, 2024Salzburg, Austria
Oct 15, 2025Amethyst laccaria mushrooms, Seabeck, Washington, United States
Apr 22, 2024Green sea turtle
May 31, 2024Gunnerside, Yorkshire Dales National Park, England
Dec 2, 2023Gwalior, Madhya Pradesh, India
Oct 15, 2024Great wildebeest migration at Mara River, Kenya
Sep 9, 2024Iguazu Falls at the border of Argentina and Brazil
May 4, 2024The ruins of an ancient monastery, Skellig Michael, Ireland
Apr 4, 2025National Cherry Blossom Festival, Washington, DC, United States
Nov 17, 2025Shenandoah National Park, Virginia, United States
Jun 21, 2024Reticulated giraffes
May 30, 2026Plains zebra foal in Etosha National Park, Namibia
Feb 8, 2026Corfu, Greece
Jan 28, 2026Whanganui National Park, Retaruke, New Zealand
Sep 6, 2025Rufous hummingbird
Nov 18, 2023Polar bear mother and cubs
May 22, 2024Tasmanian snow gum, Mount Field National Park, Tasmania, Australia
May 28, 2025Sea otter
May 10, 2026Polar bears in Wapusk National Park, Manitoba, Canada
Jan 2, 2024Jaswant Thada and Mehrangarh Fort, India
Aug 2, 2025Petroglyphs near Fruita in Capitol Reef National Park, Utah, United States
Mar 8, 2026The Brocken, Harz National Park, Germany
May 29, 2024Eurasian otters