Urbino, the Ducal Palace and the Historic Center

Today, the Palace, characterized by unique Turrets and a magnificent Courtyard of Honor, houses the National Gallery of the Marche, the Regional Superintendency for Artistic and Historical Heritage, and the Urbino Archaeological Museum. The National Gallery hosts absolute masterpieces such as Piero della Francesca’s “Flagellation” and “Madonna of Senigallia” and Raphael Sanzio’s “La Muta.” Among the numerous interior spaces of the Palace (<>, wrote Montaigne), stand out the Throne Hall and the Duke’s Studiolo, with its splendid inlaid decoration and the series of portraits of the “Famous Men.” But Urbino is full of masterpieces; just scour its streets and alleys to realize it is a kind of mosaic city, whose pieces bear the marks of a long artistic and cultural history. Among the many, must-visit stops are the Cathedral with its curious neo-Palladian mass, rebuilt after the 1784 earthquake; the Church of San Domenico with its splendid travertine portal, featuring a copy of Luca della Robbia’s lunette; the medieval Church of San Francesco, with its Gothic bell tower and the great altarpiece by Federico Barocci; the 16th-century Oratory of San Giuseppe; the Renaissance Palazzo Albani; Raphael’s birthplace, the Albornoz Fortress, from whose battlements the view extends not only over the Ducal Palace but also a magnificent backdrop of hills.