Urbino is a walled city in the Marche region in Italy, south-west of Pesaro, a World Heritage Site notable for a remarkable historical legacy of independent Renaissance culture, especially under the patronage of Federico da Montefeltro, duke of Urbino from 1444 to 1482. The town, nestled on a high sloping hillside, retains much of its picturesque medieval aspect, only slightly marred by the large car parks below the town. It hosts the University of Urbino, founded in 1506, and is the seat of the Archbishop of Urbino (see below). Its best-known architectural piece is the Palazzo Ducale, rebuilt by Luciano Laurana.

History

The modest Roman town of Urvinum Mataurense ("the little city on the river Mataurus") became an important strategic stronghold in the Gothic wars of the 6th century, captured in 538 from the Goths by the champion of the Emperor of the East, Belisarius, and frequently mentioned by the Byzantine historian Procopius. Though Pippin presented Urbino to the Papacy, independent traditions were expressed in its commune, until, around 1200 it came into the possession of the fighting nobles of nearby Montefeltro. Although these noblemen had no direct authority over the commune, they could pressure it to elect them to the position of podestà (potestas, "power"), a title that Bonconte di Montefeltro managed to obtain in 1213, with the result that the "urbinati" rebelled and formed an alliance with the independent commune of Rimini (1228), finally regaining control of the town in 1234. Eventually, though, the Motefeltro noblemen took control once more, and held it until 1508. In the struggles between the Guelphs and Ghibellines (factions supporting, respectively, the Papacy and the Holy Roman Empire), associated with individual families and cities, rather than the struggle between Hohenstaufen emperors and the Papacy as they had been, the 13th and 14th century Montefeltro lords of Urbino were leaders of the Ghibellines of the Marche and in the Romagna region.

The most famous member of the Montefeltro was Federico, lord (duca) of Urbino from 1444 to 1482, a very successful condottiere, a skillful diplomat and an enthusiastic patron of art and literature. At his court, Piero della Francesca wrote on the science of perspective, Francesco di Giorgio Martini wrote his Trattato di architettura ("Treatise on Architecture") and Raphael's father, Giovanni Santi, wrote his poetical account of the chief artists of his time. Federico's brilliant court, according to the descriptions in Baldassare Castiglione's Il Cortegiano ("The Book of the Courtier"), set standards of what was to characterize a modern European "gentleman" for centuries to come. (See Federico da Montefeltro for full biography.)

In 1502, Cesare Borgia, with the connivance of his Papal father, Alexander VI, dispossessed Guidobaldo da Montefeltre, duke of Urbino, and Elisabetta Gonzaga. They returned in 1503, after Alexander had died. After the Medici pope Leo X's brief attempt to establish a young Medici as duke, thwarted by the early death of Lorenzo II de' Medici in 1519, Urbino was ruled by the dynasty of Della Rovere dukes (see also War of Urbino).

In 1626, Pope Urban VIII definitively incorporated the Duchy into the papal dominions, the gift of the last Della Rovere duke, in retirement after the assassination of his heir, to be governed by the archbishop. Its great library was removed to Rome and added to the Vatican Library in 1657. The later history of Urbino is part of the history of the Papal States and, after 1861, of the Kingdom (later Republic) of Italy.

See also: Dukes of Urbino

Archbishops of Urbino

Main article: Archdiocese of Urbino-Urbania-Sant'Angelo in Vado

The first known bishop in Urbino was Leontius, made Bishop of Rimini by Gregory the Great in 592. The cathedral was not permitted within the walls by the independent-spirited commune until 1021, under Bishop Theodoricus. Among a long list of bishops of interest within the Roman Catholic Church, Oddone Colonna (1380), later reigned as Pope Martin V. In 1563 Pius IV made the see metropolitan, independent of Rimini, with its own suffragans: Cagli, Senigallia, Pesaro, Fossombrone, Montefeltro, and Gubbio. In 2000, Urbino lost its status as metropolitan see, while remaining an archdiocese[1].

Maiolica

The clay earth of Urbino, which still supports industrial brickworks, supplied a cluster of earthenware manufactories (botteghe) making the tin-glazed pottery known as maiolica. Simple local wares were being made in the 15th century at Urbino, but after 1520 the Della Rovere dukes, Francesco Maria I della Rovere and his successor Guidobaldo II, encouraged the industry, which exported wares throughout Italy, first in a manner called istoriato using engravings after Mannerist painters, then in a style of light arabesques and grottesche after the manner of Raphael's stanzi at the Vatican. Other centers of 16th century wares in the Duchy of Urbino were at Gubbio and Castel Durante. The great name in Urbino majolica was that of Nicolo Pillipario's son Guido Fontana.

Main sights

Palaces and public edifices
* The main attraction of Urbino is the Palazzo Ducale, begun in the second half of the 15th century by Federico II da Montefeltro. It houses the Galleria Nazionale delle Marche, one of the most important collections of Renaissance paintings in the world.
* Other interesting buildngs include Palazzo Albani (17th century), Palazzo Odasi and Palazzo Passionei.
* The Albornoz Fortress (known locally as La Fortezza), built by the eponymous Papal legate in the 14th century[2]. In 1507-1511, when the Della Rovere added a new series of walls to the city, the rock was enclosed in them. It is now a public park.
* Raphael's house and monument (1897).

Churches

* The Duomo (cathedral) is a church founded in 1021 over a 6th century religious edifice. The 12th century plan was turned 90 degrees from the current one, which is a new construction also started by Federico II and commissioned to Francesco di Giorgio Martini, author of the Ducal Palace. Finished only in 1604, the Duomo had a simple plan with a nave and two aisles, and was destroyed by an earthquake in 1789. The church was again rebuilt by the Roman architect Giuseppe Valadier, the works lasting until 1801. The new church has a typical neo-classicist appearance, with a majestic dome. It houses a San Sebastian from 1557, an Assumption by Carlo Maratta (1701) and the famous Last Supper by Federico Barocci (1603-1608).
* The church of San Giovanni Battista, with frescoes by Lorenzo Salimbeni da Sanseverino
* Sant'Agostino, built in Romanesque style in the 13th century, but largely modified in the following centuries. The façade has a late-14th century almond portal in Gothic-Romanesuqe style, while the interior is greatly decorated. It houses a precious carved choir from the 6th century, manufactured for the marriage of Costanzo Sforza and Camilla of Aragona. The bell tower is from the 15th century.
* San Francesco (14th century), originally a Gothic-Romanesque edifice of which an 18th century restoration has left only the portico and the bell tower. The interior has a nave and two aisles, and houses the Pardon of St. Francis, a 15th century work by Barocci.
* The Oratory of San Giuseppe (early 16th century), composed of two chapels: one of which contains a 16th century presepio or Nativity scene by Federico Brandani, the stucco figures are lifesize and highly naturalistic.

Outside the city is the Church of San Bernardino, housing the tombs of the Dukes of Urbino.

Other points of interest

* Orto Botanico "Pierina Scaramella", a botanical garden

[edit] People from Urbino
Federico III da Montefeltro, Duke of Urbino. Portrait by Piero della Francesca, 1492.
Federico III da Montefeltro, Duke of Urbino. Portrait by Piero della Francesca, 1492.

* Federico III da Montefeltro, Duke of Urbino, medieval condottiere and patron of the arts.
* Donato Bramante was born nearby, and witnessed Laurana's work going up while he was a youth
* Raphael was born at Urbino, where his family's house is a museum-shrine

Others notable people from Urbino include:

* Giovanni Santi, painter and poet, father of Raphael, was born nearby
* Ottaviano Petrucci, inventor of the music print with movable type, was born nearby
* Bartolomeo Carusi, theologian and professor at Bologna and Paris
* Federico Commandini (1509), mathematician
* Federico Barocci, painter
* Federico Zuccari and Taddeo Zuccari, painters, were born nearby
* Bernardino Baldi, mathematician and writer
* Polydore Vergil or Virgil, chronicler in England
* Clorinda Corradi [2], lyrical singer (1804-1877)
* Umberto Piersanti, poet
* Raffaello Carboni, Writer. The author of the main eyewitness account of events at the Eureka Stockade in Ballarat, Australia.
* Valentino Rossi, multiple MotoGP World Champion

Sources

* Negroni, F. (1993). Il Duomo di Urbino.

Hotel Tre Rose Italy owns the copyright in the listings on this page and in the advertisements.
Privacy Policy | Data Protection | Terms of Use | Site Map