The town of Pienza in Tuscany, Italy Sep 28, 2025

The town of Pienza in Tuscany, Italy

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, 2018Southern right whales sail home to South Africa
Sep 28, 2019This view is brought to you by…
Sep 28, 2020Explorer of the sea
Sep 28, 2021The snows of Fuji
Sep 28, 2022A. M. Foster Bridge in Cabot, Vermont
Sep 28, 2023World Maritime Day
Sep 28, 2024National Public Lands Day

More Desktop Wallpapers:

Jan 8, 2022American bison
Jan 29, 2025Chinese New Year
Jul 22, 2025Badlands National Park in South Dakota
Oct 30, 2019Cross this bridge if you dare
Jun 2, 2026Highway through Xitai Jinaier Lake, Qinghai Province, China
Sep 17, 2022Oktoberfest
Apr 21, 2021Exploring the Pearl of the Atlantic
Apr 24, 2022Dark Sky Week
Apr 26, 2020Red skies at Ruby Beach
Nov 15, 2023Rapa Valley in Sarek National Park, Sweden
Nov 11, 2025Marine Corps War Memorial, Arlington, Virginia
Dec 16, 2024Salzburg, Austria
Oct 3, 2018Monarch butterflies migrate south
May 10, 2019Looking back on 150 years of rail travel
Oct 22, 2025The Belogradchik Rocks in Bulgaria
Jul 21, 2018And you thought moths were boring
Nov 10, 2019Sunny day, sweepin the clouds away
Nov 17, 2024Red deer stag in Glen Affric, Scottish Highlands
Aug 7, 2023National Lighthouse Day
Sep 6, 2020Summer winds down in the Hamptons
May 11, 2021 The Crown of the Continent
Jan 8, 2026Starling murmuration over the ruins of Brightons West Pier, England
Apr 29, 2023Astronomy Day
Dec 9, 2018There’s treasure in them thar hills
Aug 27, 2020Rocks on the move
Aug 4, 2025Great gray owls in their nest, Finland
Dec 6, 2023Computer Science Education Week
Mar 7, 2021Finding a balance between wetlands and water treatment
Jan 23, 2021A sleeping green giant
Dec 31, 2024New Years Eve in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil