why no love for Pienza from RS ??

I liked Pienza. I didn't stay there, but I did spend about a half a day there. I guess Rick can't like every place. Just like not everyone will like the places he likes. If that's where you want to stay there is no reason why you shouldn't.

I think Pienza would be a good base. It has some interest in itself, and it's close to many other good towns to visit. It has enough tourist infrastructure - - hotels, restaurants - - that you'll have plenty of choices. RS has his own particular biases. He's not God, not even the god of travel.

RS guides and other materials are inherently authorial (some would say authoritative) in nature. He leans heavily on his own views, quirks and preferences and isn't shy of picking and choosing winners and losers on his lists, blog posts etc.

Maybe he just didn't like the place when he visited, and put it on a blacklist. Maybe he liked other areas nearby so much he can't feel anywhere else would be a good alternative.

So read his tips, just don't over-limit yourself to his evaluations.

Rick is pretty clear in his book about his objection to Pienza: "Cute as the town is, it also feels a bit greedy and is entirely given over to snaring the tourist dollar." But as pointed out, that's his opinion. Your mileage may vary.

Although I don't think I've ever stayed there overnight in a hotel (my house is too close to bother), I've always preferred Pienza to any other town there, including Montepulciano. He probably had a bad experience once (maybe he was disappointed with a restaurant or hotel) and he vowed to get back at the Pienzesi as a reprisal. I guess it's Rick's way of posting a bad review on Yelp.

We stayed at Villa Poggiano outside of Montepulciano..was a good place with good breakfast. Grounds were beautiful.

He does recommend agriturismo cretiaole just outside of Pienza. For staying in towns he recommends Montepulciano. I agree with there or Montalcino. Pienza is a really cute town but super touristy. I just watched the RS Tuscany episode and he covers Pienza.

I stumbled across this blog entry about Pienza and had to share it. It confirms what Rick says.
Pienza - Created for tourists?

If Rick Steves doesn't care much about Pienza because it is overrun by tourists (which it is), why doesn't he have the same complaint about the Cinque Terre or San Gimignano?

If those aren't towns created for tourists, I don't know which are.

Well, he does describe San Gim as "a perfectly preserved tourist trap" in his first sentence on that town. Next two sentences: "There are no important interiors to sightsee, and the town is packed with crass commercialism. The locals seem corrupted by the easy money of tourism, and most of the rustic is faux."