Centro Storico di Urbino " Unesco " - .

Immersed in the soft hills of the Marche, between the Metauro valley and the Foglia valley, stands Urbino, a city of immense historical and artistic wealth. In Urbino it is easy to get lost with the nose up while walking in its historic center. Surrounded by a long brick wall and adorned with sandstone buildings, Urbino from a simple village became the "cradle of the Renaissance" and, even today, walking through its historic center you can breathe the fifteenth-century air. Thanks to its Renaissance character, Urbino has earned the honor of entering the world heritage list in 1998. For UNESCO, the city has the merit of having been a point of attraction for the most illustrious scholars and artists of the Renaissance, Italian and foreign, who have created an exceptional urban complex. The origins of Urbino are very ancient, the Roman name Urvinum derives from the Latin term urvus (urvum is the curved handle of the plow), but it was in the fifteenth century that the city experienced its maximum splendor. And it is above all thanks to the contribution of Federico di Montefeltro that Urbino acquired that monumental and artistic excellence, whose influence has widely extended to the rest of Europe. In fact, this great patron was able not only to transform Urbino into a magnificent princesque court, but also to attract into the duchy the best that the Italian Renaissance humanistic culture could offer: Piero della Francesca, Luciano Laurana, Leon Battista Alberti, Francesco di Giorgio Martini, Girolamo Genga and Raphael's father, Giovanni Santi. Walking along the steep and narrow streets you will come across all the buildings of the Renaissance Urbino: the former Monastery of Santa Chiara, the Church of San Domenico, the Mausoleum of the Dukes in the Church of San Bernardino, Palazzo Boghi and the majestic Palazzo Ducale, guardian of the treasure of Urbino. Some of the most important workers of the time were involved in the construction of the building, now home to the National Gallery of the Marche. And a visit to the Gallery is a must if you want to admire some absolute masterpieces of the history of art preserved here: "Flagellation of Christ" and "Madonna di Senigallia" by Piero della Francesca, "Communion of the Apostles" by Giusto di Gand; "Miracle of the Profaned Host" by Paolo Uccello and the sublime "Muta" by Raphael. Nearby do not miss the Data (the ducal stables), connected to the Palace by the magnificent helicoidal ramp. Artistically beautiful, but also beautiful from a landscape point of view: being between two hills, Urbino offers a decidedly suggestive panorama of roofs and churches.