43º43N 12º38E. Historic town in Marche region, EC Italy; located on a hill between the Foglia and Metauro rivers; founded by the Umbrians, occupied by the Romans (3rd-c BC); made a duchy (12th-c) and became a centre of Renaissance artistic and literary activity under the rule of Federico da Montefeltro and his son Guidobaldo; was incorporated in the Papal States (1626) and in the Kingdom of Italy (1860); birthplace of Raphael, Federigo Barocci, Bonarelli della Rovere, Polydore Vergil, Paolo Volponi; university (founded, 1506); National Gallery (with works by Raphael, Piero della Francesca, Titian) was formerly the Ducal Palace; 15th-c cathedral rebuilt (1789) after an earthquake; Church of San Bernardino (1491); old town centre was designated a world heritage site in 1998; annual summer dance festival; Kite Day (Sep).
| Comune di Urbino | |
|---|---|
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Municipal coat of arms |
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| Country | Italy |
| Region | Marche |
| Province | Pesaro-Urbino (PU) |
| Mayor | Corbucci Franco |
| Elevation | 451 m |
| Area | 228 km² |
| Population | |
| - Total (as of December 31, 2004) | 15,441 |
| - Density | 66/km² |
| Time zone | CET, UTC+1 |
| Coordinates | 43°43′N 12°38′E |
| Gentilic | Urbinati |
| Dialing code | 0722 |
| Postal code | 61029 |
| Patron | St. Crescentinus |
| - Day | June 1 |
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Location of Urbino in Italy |
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| Website: www.comune.urbino.ps.it | |
Urbino is a city in the Marche in Italy, southwest of Pesaro, a World Heritage Site, notable for a remarkable historical legacy of independent Renaissance culture, specially under the patronage of its then duke, Federico da Montefeltro. The city hosts the University of Urbino, founded in 1564, and is the seat of the Archbishop of Urbino (see below).
The most famous member of the Montefeltro was Federico, lord of Urbino 1444 to 1482, a very successful condottiere, a skillful diplomat and an enthusiastic patron of art and literature. (See Federico da Montefeltro for full biography.)
Cesare Borgia dispossessed Guidobaldo da Montefeltre, duke of Urbino, and Elisabetta Gonzaga in 1502, with the connivance of his Papal father Alexander VI. 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: Dukes of Urbino
Archbishops of Urbino
The first known bishop in Urbino was Leontius, made Bishop of Rimini by Gregory the Great in 592.
Majolica
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 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. 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 has a suggestive 16th century stucco praeseps by Federico BrandaniOutside the city is the Church of San Bernardino, housing the tombs of the Dukes of Urbino.
People from Urbino
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-shrineOthers 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 Umberto Piersanti, poet Valentino Rossi, multiple MotoGP World Champion
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