Urbino

Urbino is situated at 485 m high in the internal subappennine area, among the valleys of the Foglia and Metauro rivers. It is the centre of the Free University founded in 1506, the Academy of Fine Arts and the Institute for Book Decoration and Illustration. The city is linked with Pesaro in the domination of the province for historical, artistic and cultural importance. It rises in an elevated position on a hilltop with steep lanes, and is encircled by ancient boundaries; recently it has expanded towards the north west. An agricultural and commercial centre, (cereals, vegetables, grapes and wine) it also has some industrial businesses (tiles, manufactured articles in cement, textiles, iron furniture, ceramic maioliche, carpentry and iron work). However, the greatest resources are tourism and the university. Homeland of Raffaello Sanzio, of the Baroccio and of the Brandani. The Roman remains are scarce, while from the Gothic age there is the  St. Domenico church  (prior to 1365), with a Renaissance portal and the interior remade by Luigi Vanvitelli (1727 - 1732) and the San Francesco church, from the second half of XIV century, remade on the interior also by Vantivelli (1740). You can also find gothic forms on the oratory of San Giovanni Battista in which are preserved frescos (1416) of their Salimbeni brothers.

The Palazzo Ducale, the greatest monument of Urbino, was started shortly after 1450, for Duke Federico from Montefeltro on the remains of the ancient fortress. It was built over time by Luciano Laurana (1468-1472) and Francis of George Martini and much later (in 1563) Girolamo Genga added a new plan to the construction. The interior of the building contains only some of the works produced by the numerous artists that worked for Duke Federico: the Communion of the apostles of Giusto of Gand and some of the portraits of the famous men that modeled for the Flemish painter, including Pedro Berruguete. The ducal office still maintains the famous tarsus decoration, probably created by B. Pontelli and based on drawings by Botticelli and Francis of George Martini. From the same epoch are the sculptural decorations of Ambrogio from Milan and Domenico Rosselli, while Piero della Francesca’s visits to the city are documented by the Scourging of Christ and by the Madonna of Senigallia. To Bramante have been attributed  two small chapels of the Muse and the Forgiveness that are inside the building while to Francesco di Giorgio Martini is attributed the work of the  church of San Bernardino that is out of the city and hold the tombs of Dukes Federico and Guidobaldo from Montefeltro.

Contemporary (second half of the XV sec.) and Lauranesco architectural examples are the buildings Passion, Palm, Luminati and Semproni, while the old Santa Chiara Convent was built by Francesco of Giorgio Martini. Important to visit is the birthplace of Raphael and the centre of the academy of Raphael, where among other things is preserved a signed fresco. Of less interest are the monuments that are from the following epochs: the duomo, built in the XV sec., has the interior  remade in1789 by the Valadier and the façade from the beginning of the XIX sec.; and finally the National Gallery of Le Marche, based in the Palazzo Ducale, that has works of Paolo Uccello, Luca Signorelli, Titian, Gentileschi, etc., and several other important Urbinati painters (G. Saints, T. Viti, Raphael, Baroccio, etc.) and Marchigian artists. Urbino has ancient origins from prehistoric times, but there is documentation only from the beginning of the III century BC, when Urvinum Mataurense assumed the investiture of the Roman town hall of which some remains of the walls and the ancient theatre still exist.

Thanks to its strategic position it was a coveted fief involved in the internal struggles. Driven by the Ghibellina faction and from Antonio from Montefeltro, a strong army was sent to face the emperor Federico Barbarossa in Rome. This brought to Antonio the title of count and the position of imperial priest of Urbino (1155). This is probably is the beginning of the bond and the future dynasty of the Montefeltro. However, the feudal period didn’t flourish until the following centuries. Passed to the Montefeltros, torn from the expansionistic aims of Sigismondo Malatesta, Urbino knew a period of glory, especially with the famous  family of Federico II from Montefeltro, count and then duke, who had a strong artistic influence by inviting all the famous artists of the day to the court. After the death of Guidobaldo in 1508, the last Montefeltro without heirs, the dukedom passed to his nephew Francesco Maria della Rovere, among whose successors is Guidobaldo who improved the city and renewed the ancient glory. His son Francesco Maria II gave Urbino to the Pope in 1626. After this started the saddest period for Urbino with the dispossession of the city and with the most important works of art dispersed all over the world. Nevertheless, Urbino today is an important artistic and tourist centre boasting a University, with courses of improvement and specialisation for home students and foreigners; it has an academy of Fine Art, a Superior Institute of Graphics and an Institute of Book Art.

Urbino is the birthplace of Bramante and Raphael, symbol of the Italian Renaissance, with its original historical centre and the majority of the buildings from the golden age. Sets on two hills, it is surrounded by ancient walls and bastions. Four principal roads connect the two hills and these with the lowland.

Every year, in August, Urbino celebrates with the Festival of the Duke with reenactment s in the streets of the centre with costumes, acrobats and fire eaters, culminating in the challenge of the counts in the presence of the Ducal Court.

To visit: The Palazzo Ducale is the outcome of an enlargement of the original medieval castle, commissioned by Duke Federico first to a plan by Luciano Laurana and then between 1444 and 1482 to a plan by Giorgio Martini. It became a sumptuous palace, a real masterpiece of Renaissance art. After this enlargement Francesco di Giorgio Martini joined all the different parts of the palace with its 250 rooms (once full of paintings, taken away and lost by the Barbarians) making the palace into a town.

Laurana created the courtyard, one of the most beautiful of the Renaissance and the lowland façade which contains all the overhanging lodges in its turrets. Federico’s private room, realized by Giusto di Gand is renowned. It has in its lower part some inlays and in its upper part 28 paintings, with portraits of philosophers, poets and doctors.

The tarsias were realized by Baccio Pontelli, Sandro Botticelli, Francesco di Giorgio Martini and Donato Bramante. Some people who worked for the Duke are: Baccio Pontelli, Leon Battista Alberti, Francesco Laurana, Desiderio da Settignano, il Pisanello, Paolo Uccello, Piero della Francesca, Melozzo da Forlì, Fra Carnevale and Giovanni Santi. Guidobaldo’s son continued the work with Luca Signorelli, Timoteo Viti, Evangelista di Pian di Mileto. The Duke’s interest spread all over the town through his intervention on both religious and civil buildings and public works such as the city walls.

The Albani Diocesan Museum keeps collections of ceramics, glassware, handmade religious artefacts and Federico Barocci’s painting “The Last Supper” (XVI century).

The St. Domenico church has a magnificent travertine doorway with one of Luca della Robbia’s work set in its lunette.

The Oratory of San Giusseppe is renowned for its stucco nativity scene, made in 1522. In 1416 Lord Guidantonio asked the two Sanseverinati brothers, Lorenzo and Jacopo Salimbeni, to fresco the Oratory which was finished by Ottaviano Nelli and Antonio Alberti from Ferrara.

The Oratory of St. John the Baptist (XVI century) has an interior decorated with XV century frescos. Among these are the XV century Crucifixion and John’s life, painted by Jacopo and Lorenzo Salimbeni.

The cathedral rises among the tangled medieval alleys. It was built by Laurana and rebuilt in 1784 by Valadier after an earthquake and once again rebuilt during the following century in the Palladian style. It contains works by Timoteo Viti and Federico Barocci.

The church of San Francesco, XIV century, has a beautiful gothic spire and a large altar-piece by Federico Barocci. It was rebuilt by Vanvitelli during the first half of the XVIII century. It houses the Dukes’ tombs (there are Antonio and Oddantonio’s sarcophagus).

The church of San Bernardino degli Zoccolanti (built by Francesco di Giorgio Martini) is the site of the Dukes’ museum, outside the town (the duke himself, his wife Elisabeth and his son Guidobaldo were buried there). Till the last century it housed “Our lady with the holy child”, angels and saints and Piero della Francesca’s “The duke Federico on his knees” which now is kept in the Brera Gallery in Milan.

Raphael’s birthplace is the site of the Homonymous Academy, founded in 1869.

The Albornoz Fortress, XV century, is situated in B.Buozzi Avenue and is the defensive city symbol of the XVI century.

The National Gallery of Le Marche, housed in the Palazzo Ducale, contains genuine masterpieces such as “The Scourging” and “Our lady from Senigallia” by Piero della Francesca, “The Moulting” by Raphael and works of other important artists such as: Domenico Rosselli, Allegretto Nunzi, Giovanni Baronzio, Pietro da Rimini, Antonio da Fabriano, Giovanni Santi, Melozzo da Forlì, i Giusto da Gan, Carlo Crivelli, Alvise Vivarini, Tiziano Timoteo Vita, Taddeo Zuccai. Some works, lost in 1623 returned in Urbino and allowed the foundation of the gallery.

Finally, downstream, there is a delightful view of the city from Borgo Mercatale with its impending semi cylindrical volume which contains Francesco di Giorgio Martini’s helicoidal ramp of the XV century.