Urbino

Urbino rises on steep hills inland from the Adriatic. Once the Roman town of Urbinum Mataurense, it became the seat of the Montefeltro lords and one of the most admired courts of Renaissance Italy. Its ducal palace, rebuilt under Federico da Montefeltro, dominates a town whose winding streets retain much of their medieval form.

Federico ruled from 1444 to 1482, earning distinction as a military commander and diplomat as well as a patron of art and letters. His court and palace embodied the wealth and ambitions of a small principality. In 1502 Cesare Borgia drove out Federico's son Guidobaldo; the duchy later passed to the Della Rovere. They moved their court to Pesaro in 1523, and the duchy eventually came under direct papal rule. Its famous ducal library was absorbed into the Vatican Library in 1657.