Urbino, il Palazzo Ducale e il centro storico

Today, the Palazzo, characterized by unique Torricini and a splendid Cortile d’Onore, is home to the National Gallery of the Marche, the Regional Superintendency for Artistic and Historical Heritage, and the Urbino Archaeological Museum. The National Gallery houses absolute masterpieces such as the “Flagellation” and the “Madonna of Senigallia” by Piero della Francesca and Raphael Sanzio’s “Muta.” Among the numerous interior rooms of the Palazzo (<>, wrote Montaigne), the Throne Hall and the Duke’s Studiolo stand out, with the splendid inlaid decoration and the series of portraits of the “Illustrious Men.” But Urbino is full of masterpieces; just scour the streets and alleys to realize that it is a kind of mosaic city, whose tiles bear the marks of a long artistic and cultural history. Among the many must-see 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 sixteenth-century Oratory of San Giuseppe; the Renaissance Palazzo Albani; Raphael’s birthplace; and the Albornoz Fortress, from whose ramparts the view extends not only over the Ducal Palace but also over a magnificent backdrop of hills.