The city of Urbino (Italy) is one of the centers of the Italian Renaissance. This is the birthplace of many famous artists and sculptors. The city is very popular among tourists due to its incredibly beautiful views and well-developed tourist infrastructure. Famous cultural and historical sites are spread around the world, for example, in the form of a painting by F. Brondini with the castle of Urbino on postage stamps of Italy.
History of the city
If you look at the map of Italy, Urbino is located in the east of the country. The city has a long history. Poggio, the hill on which Urbino is located, has been inhabited since prehistoric times. In the era of Ancient Rome, Urbino was a fortified city, had important strategic importance, it was surrounded by solid walls. In December 538, the Byzantine General Belisario captured the city. Under the rule of the Byzantines, Urbino, together with Fossombrone, Yesi, Calgli and Gubbio, was included in the Pentapol (Pentagram) Andonaria. In 568, the first Lombard invasion took place, which lasted until the end of the century.
In 733, Carlo Magno (Charles the Great King of the Francs) came to Italy after the defeat of the Lombard kingdom and gave Urbino to the Church. At that time, the city was an important bishopric, although in fact the creation of the diocese dates back to 313. With regard to subsequent centuries, the history of the city and the local church is fragmented.
Federico Maria, the grandson of Guidobaldo, began the feudal power of the clan della Rover, which lasted until 1631, when, with the death of Francesco Maria II, the duchy passed to the Church. With the end of power, della Rover countless works of art were transferred to Florence and Rome, among other things, the famous Federico library was also transferred.
In 1155, one of the representatives of Montefeltro, a family of German descent, was appointed imperial vicar in Urbino. In 1234, the Buonconte clan replaced.
The heyday of the city began under Earle Antonio, then his son, Guidantonio, increased the city's well-being. After the death of his 17-year-old son, as a result of a conspiracy, Federico (the middle of the 15th century) became the head of the city, from which the most magnificent period of Urbino began, in the ducal palace there remained evidence of the magnificence, perfection and greatness of that time.
Federico was succeeded by his son Guidobaldo, he died in 1508 at the age of 36, leaving no heirs. Two important institutions were his contribution to the development of the city: in 1506 he created the Council of Physicians, which later became the foundation of the University of Montefeltro, and a year later founded the Della Cappella Musicale Del Santissimo Sacramento Music Chapel.
Urbino (Italy) is rightfully considered the center of mathematics and art of the Renaissance, it was the birthplace of great and talented personalities. Among them were:
- Rafael Santi (1483 - 1551), one of the greatest artists;
- Donato Bramante (1444 - 1514), a genius of architecture;
- Girolamo Jenga (1476 - 1551), painter, sculptor and architect;
- Federico Barocci (1534 - 1612), artist;
- Federico Brandani (1525 - 1575), sculptor;
- Timoteo Viti (1469 - 1523), artist;
- Nicola da Urbino (1480 - 1540/1547), artist;
- Commando Federico (1506 - 1575), humanist, doctor and mathematician.
History Center
This part of the city of Urbino in Italy is included in the UNESCO World Heritage List, covers an area of just over one square kilometer. The center is located between the walls of the bastion and is completely built of burnt bricks. It has an elongated rhomboid shape and is divided into parts by the main and almost perpendicular streets (Via Mazzini and Via Cesare Battisti on the one hand, Via Raffaello and Via Veneto on the other), which are found on the main square (Piazza della Repubblica). From numerous photos of Urbino (Italy), you can appreciate the beauty of the historic center.
Rafael House Museum
The house, built in the fifteenth century, was bought in 1460 by Raphael's father, Giovanni Santi (1435 - 1494), a humanist, poet and artist who served in the courtyard of Federico da Montefeltro. Giovanni organized his own workshop, where Raphael mastered all the subtleties of art.
Acquired in 1635 by the architect Urbino Muzio Oddi in 1873, the house was transferred to the Raffael Academy, founded in 1869 by Pompeo Gerardi. The Academy was engaged in various studies related to the personality of the great painter. This is one of the iconic sights of Urbino in Italy.
On the ground floor there is a large room with a coffered ceiling, where the Annunciation is stored, a painting by Giovanni Santi, as well as copies of two works by Raphael made in the nineteenth century: Madonna della Segola and Vision of Ezekiel.
In the small adjoining room, considered to be the birthplace of the painter, is the fresco "Madonna and Child" by Giovanni Santi, which is now attributed by critics to young Raphael. Of particular interest is the drawing attributed to Bramante (1444 - 1514), and a collection of Renaissance ceramics.
Manuscripts, rare editions, coins, portraits are preserved on the second floor: typical examples of nineteenth-century culture.
Church of San Bernardino
It was built after the death of Federico da Montefeltro, from about 1482 to 1491, as a place for the burial of himself and his descendants (Mausoleum of the Duchy). The project and the subsequent implementation of the work are attributed to the ducal architect Francesco di Giorgio Martini (who created it with the help of the young and promising Donato Bramante). The building is made in the style characteristic of the Renaissance Urbino.
In the nave there are cenotaphs (tombstones in a place where there are no remains; symbolic graves) of the Dukes Federico and Guidobaldo Montefeltro facing each other: these two Baroque monuments were erected after their death (1620). The marble busts of the two dukes are attributed to Girolamo Campagna.
The right niche is decorated with frescoes of 1642. The choir has a nineteenth-century painting with the Madonna and Child, St. Bernardine (Bernardino), St. Jacob (Giacomo) and two angels.
Spiral ramp (Rampa Elicoidale)
This ramp was built in the 1400s by the Duke of Federico di Montefeltro, so that he could ride on a horse all the way to his Palace. Restored by the architect Giancarlo De Carlo, it can now be used by anyone who wants to leave the lowlands of Piazza Mertatale and find themselves in the center of Urbino, right where the Raffaello Theater is located.
Albornoz Fortress
La Fortezza or Rocca Albornóz is a fortified building built on the highest point of Monte di Sergio in Urbino. It owes its name to Cardinal Albornos, who is traditionally credited with its construction, although some researchers believe that it was built by his successor, the Spanish Cardinal Grimboard. This is one of the most significant sights of Urbino in Italy.
The fortress was built in the second half of the fourteenth century to protect the city, since the existing one was no longer considered suitable for the city.
Over the centuries, it has undergone destruction and reconstruction; at the beginning of the 16th century, when the walls of Della Rover were built, the fortress was connected to the city walls, and in 1673 the fortress was transferred to the Carmelites from a nearby monastery, which now houses the Academy of Fine Arts.
In 1799, during the Napoleonic era, the fortress was rebuilt for military purposes, and in subsequent years it became the property of the Carmelites.
The fortress is completely built of brick, has a rectangular structure with two semicircular towers and bastions.
Today, the Albornoz fortress is part of the Bella Gerit Museum, an archaeological site and a storage site for military equipment used between 1300 and 1500.
Due to its elevated position, the fortress offers panoramic views of the city of Urbino and the surrounding area.
Oratorio San Giovanni
It is one of the most outstanding monuments of the city of Urbino due to the painting of its walls by the Salimbeni brothers in the 15th century. It is one of the most remarkable examples of the Gothic region of Marche.
The oratorio dates back to 1365 and was originally located in a hospital for pilgrims, sick and penitents, such as Blessed Pietro Spagnoli, whose remains were buried under a high altar.
The church retains its original structure with a wooden ceiling, the facade was restored in 1900 by the designer Diomede Catalucci. The frescoes on the walls are striking in their picturesque technique, sophistication in the use of colors and attention to detail. The cycle of frescoes is the most complete work of artists of the seventeenth century: along the right wall there are scenes that illustrate the life of St. John the Baptist; the apsidal wall is a crucifix scene dating from 1416; on the left is the Madonna of Humility. Other murals belong to different authors. Among them, probably, Antonio Alberti da Ferrara (1390 / 1400-1449)
National Gallery of Marche
This landmark of Urbino is located in the Palazzo Ducale, a fifteenth-century princely residence commissioned by the Duke Federico da Montefeltro. “A city-shaped building,” as Baldassar Castiglione called it, which reflects the militant and at the same time enlightened and cultural personality of his lord.
Architects Luciano Lorana (1420 - 1479), the author of a magnificent courtyard and facade between two thin towers, and Francesco di Giorgio Martini (1439 - 1502), who designed the main, so-called "two-door" facade, worked on the construction.
In 1861, the foundation of the art gallery was created, which is considered one of the most valuable art collections in Italy. The main collection of the museum was created in 1912 under the direction of Lionello Venturi in order to collect, preserve art objects from all over the region. Here are stored such masterpieces as The Desecration of the Guests by Paolo Uccello (1397 - 1475), The Last Supper and The Resurrection by Titian (1487/88 - 1576), The Assumption of the Virgin Federico Barocci (1535 - 1612); “Our Lady with the Baby and St. Roman Roman »Orazio Gentileschi (1563 - 1638 or 46). The Volponi collection, donated by a writer from Urbino, which includes paintings from the Bologna period of the fourteenth century and paintings from the 17th century, was recently acquired. The museum also stores collections of drawings and prints, ceramics and majolica of the fifteenth and sixteenth centuries and the mysterious picture of the ideal city (1480). In numerous photos of Urbino, you can see various types of galleries.
Oratorio of San Giuseppe
The building is home to the brotherhood of the same name, founded in the early 16th century by the Franciscan priest Gerolamo Recalci da Verona. Very close to this fraternity was the noble Albanian family, in particular Pope Clement XI and Cardinal Annibal Albani, who contributed to turning Urbino into one of the richest cities.
The church itself is a single hall of a rectangular shape; it was decorated with frescoes on the walls, on the crypt and in the apse, painted by the city painter Carlo Roncalli, the author of four large canvases on the side walls, depicting the main moments of the life of St. Joseph. Above the altar is a large marble shrine donated by Pope Clement XI in 1732, with two columns in red porphyry emerging from the Pantheon, and in the center is a white marble statue of St. Joseph Giuseppe Lironi from Como from the Basilica of San Giovanni in Laterano. The valuable work of the city sculptor Federico Brandani, depicting the birth of Jesus Christ, created between 1545 and 1550, is stored inside.
Cathedral of Santa Maria Assunta
This cathedral was built in Urbino (Italy) by Bishop Maynard in 1063 and is dedicated to the Assumption of the Virgin Mary. In the fifteenth century, the building was rebuilt according to the will of Federico da Montefeltro. The project was probably designed by Francesco di Giorgio Martini. Only at the end of the eighteenth century the cathedral received its final appearance in the neoclassical style, designed by architect Giuseppe Valadier. Also during this period a bell tower was built. Behind the facade are seven statues of saints, among which we can see St. San Cresentino, the patron saint of the city.
The diocesan museum dedicated to the Albany family was created on the side of the ancient sacristy in recognition of many merits in relation to the cathedral. It houses the most diverse liturgical setting, including the treasures of the Duomo and furniture donated by Pope Clement XI. In the crypt of the cathedral there are sculptures of Giovanni Bandini.
Monument to Raphael
The work was created by the Turin sculptor Luigi Belli (1896-1897). The bronze statue of the artist, with a palette and tassels in his hand, stands on a high base, where allegorical figures of the Genius and the Renaissance are located below. There are also two bas-reliefs depicting the artist. On bronze medallions are portraits of artists - his contemporaries: Bramante, Viti, Perugino, Giovanni da Udine, Perin del Wage, Giulio Romano, Marcantonio Raimondi.
Egyptian obelisk
Being a copy of the monument located in Piazza Minerva in Rome, the Egyptian obelisk of Urbino (Italy) is one of twelve original samples located throughout the country. It is located in the city center, on the Piazza Rinascimento, between the Palazzo Ducale and the beautiful church of San Domenico.
The obelisk, whose origin dates back to the 6th century BC, was previously located near the city of Says. In the first century AD, he was found in Campo Marzio in Rome, in the Temple of Isis. When in 391, Emperor Theodosius abolished pagan cults, the obelisk disappeared. A small Egyptian miracle appeared again only in the eighteenth century, when mankind again became interested in ancient civilizations.
The obelisk appeared in Urbino thanks to Cardinal Albany, who donated to his city. The monument consists of five blocks placed on a stone pedestal, on the edge of which there is the coat of arms of the Albani family. A small cross located at the top of the structure contains a fragment of the True Cross of Christ. True or not, but it still remains a hypothesis and a reason for reflection.
Tourist info
Guests at Urbino are offered comfortable accommodation.
The B&B La Poiana, located in a newly built villa on the hills, can rightly be called an oasis of peace and tranquility.
La Casetta del Borgo is a charming cottage in a small village within walking distance of Urbino. Hotel accommodation includes breakfast or apartments for a minimum of 3 nights.
Mamiani & Ki Spa Hotel is located between the green hills surrounding Urbino, just 1.5 km from the city center. It consists of 62 rooms, all with air conditioning, radio, telephone, minibar, safe, cable TV and free Wi-Fi. In front of the building there are two large free parking lots. The hotel has its own spa.
Girfalco Country House is a small hotel located in an old rural house located in the green hills of Montefeltro. All rooms are comfortable, each has a private entrance and bathroom. Ideal for couples of all ages who want to spend a vacation away from the hustle, bustle and bustle of the city.
During a walk around the city, you will definitely want to eat. The city has a lot of different cafes and restaurants.
Tartufi Antiche Bonta offers visitors Italian cuisine, delicacies such as truffles, a wine bar.
La Casa Dei Cuochi specializes in Italian cuisine, pizza and barbecue.
Amici Miei Ristorante Pizzeria invites visitors to try pizza. As well as Italian cuisine, seafood, Mediterranean cuisine and vegetarian dishes.
Piadineria L'Aquilone and Antica osteria da la Stella specialize in Italian dishes, Mediterranean cuisine and fast food. In the first institution there are also dishes for vegetarians.
According to tourists, Urbino is a great place in Italy that will appeal to fans of the Renaissance. The city is equipped for tourist visits, so there will be no problems with accommodation and meals.