Urbino the Picturesque

One of the least touristed regions in Italy is Marche. Its capital is a small, picturesque walled Renaissance hill town named Urbino which is located about 30km from Adriatic sea, and since 1998 Urbino’s “centro storico” (historic centre) is included in Unesco list of World Heritage Sites.

“Urvinum Mataurense” (translates as “the little city on the river Mataurus”) remains one of the most important towns for those that seeking the great Italian art and architecture. Since the second half of the 15th century Urbino was just another modest Roman, and later medieval city. Under the patronage of Federico da Montefeltro, duke of Urbino from 1444 to 1482 who was a very successful condottiere, a skilful diplomat and an enthusiastic patron of art and literature, the town experienced a great cultural flowering. The duke gathered around him the greatest poets, painters, and scholars of his day from all over Italy and far beyond. All those charismatic people created an exceptional urban complex, the influence of which, carried far into the rest of Europe.

The little hill town nestled on a high sloping hillside; harmoniously adapted to its physical site and to its medieval precursor is a pinnacle of Renaissance art and architecture. Only the large car parks below the town can be considered as a cacophony to the past’s aspect.

For a great first impression approach the town from Arezzo to see the fairy-tale twin towers of the huge Palazzo Ducale (Ducal Palace) that give Urbino its unmistakable skyline. Once inside, the courtyard sets the tone; a masterpiece of proportion and light carried out with the deftest of touches. Keep in mind that this palace was the first of its kind; the others you will meet across Italy are mere copies.

Among an interesting and vast network of rooms, kitchens, laundry rooms, cellars, and stables, the palace houses “Galleria Nazionale delle Marche”; a museum with a remarkable collection of paintings. Piero della Francesca’s Flagellation of Christ is included and this is one of world’s greatest and most enigmatic images. Do not leave Ducal Palace without visiting “Museo Archeologico”; the second museum inside the building complex where the visitor can meet the few traces of earlier Roman Urbinum Metaurense.