Urbino — Il Palazzo Ducale e lo Studiolo di Federico
Urbino (UNESCO 1998, rif. 828) è la corte rinascimentale più integra d’Italia: Federico da Montefeltro (1422–1482 CE) trasformò una fortezza medievale in un palazzo di 250 stanze dove vivevano Piero della Francesca, Raffaello da giovane, e dove fu scritto il “Libro del Cortegiano” di Baldassarre Castiglione.
At a glance
Urbino Marche Italy (43.7228 N 12.6367 E UNESCO WHS 1998 reference 828: the most precisely Urbino zone Marche Italy: the site (the historic centre of Urbino: a hill town at 485 m altitude in the Marche Apennines: the entire historic centre is the UNESCO WHS; it is one of the best-preserved Renaissance towns in the world): Federico da Montefeltro (1422-1482 CE: Duke of Urbino from 1444 CE: the most celebrated condottiere (mercenary captain) of the Italian Renaissance: he fought for hire for the Papacy, Florence, Naples, and Milan; he was never defeated in battle (more than 20 major battles in 36 years of command): the “uomo universale” (the “universal man”: Federico read Latin, Greek, and Hebrew; he played the lute; he studied mathematics and astronomy; he collected the finest library in Italy after the Vatican (1,000 manuscripts; the Biblioteca Medicea Laurenziana in Florence had 800 at the same time)): the patronage (the Palazzo Ducale cost more than the annual income of many Italian city-states: Federico attracted Piero della Francesca (who lived at the court 1469-1472 CE and painted the “Flagellazione” and the “Madonna di Senigallia”): the architect Luciano Laurana (c.1420-1479 CE); the architect and theorist Francesco di Giorgio Martini (1439-1501 CE)).
Key facts
- Lo Studiolo di Federico (c.1473–1476 CE, Benedetto da Maiano e Giuliano da Sangallo) e la “Flagellazione” di Piero della Francesca: the Studiolo (the “little study”: the private cabinet of Federico da Montefeltro: a room of approximately 3.6 m × 3.4 m on the ground floor of the Palazzo Ducale (below the main state apartments): the walls are entirely covered with intarsia (the “trompe l’œil” (the “trick of the eye”): a technique of inlaid wood (the intarsia panels are constructed from hundreds of small pieces of wood of different species (walnut, pear, ash, maple, oak, cherry, beech) cut and fitted together to create a picture without paint): the panels depict (in 3D perspectival illusion): bookshelves with open books, lutes and other musical instruments, geometric instruments (compass, astrolabe, ruler), a closed cupboard with a slightly open door showing a squirrel inside, a latticed window through which an imaginary landscape is visible, an hourglass, letters, and armour: the visual language (the combination of humanist learning (books, music, science) and military power (armour) in a single private room was Federico’s personal manifesto)); the “Flagellazione di Cristo” (c.1455-1460 CE, Piero della Francesca: the panel painting now in the Galleria Nazionale delle Marche: 58.4 cm × 81.5 cm: small but the most analyzed painting in the history of art: the mystery (the 3 figures in the foreground (right side of the painting) are discussing something while watching (or ignoring?) the Flagellation of Christ in the background left): no historical document identifies who the 3 figures are: proposed identifications include: Ludovico Gonzaga, Federico da Montefeltro, Ottaviano degli Ubaldini della Carda; or Cardinal Bessarion, the Byzantine Cardinal in exile; or 3 allegorical figures of Heresy, Ignorance, and Pride: the perspective system (Piero used the most rigorous mathematical perspective of the 15th century: the floor tiles in the loggia can be measured and the exact viewpoint calculated: a mathematical model published by J.V. Field in 1997 CE showed that Piero placed the “ideal viewpoint” at the centre of a specific window of the Palazzo Ducale))
- GPS: 43.7228° N, 12.6367° E (Urbino centro storico, Palazzo Ducale)
History
Da Federico 1444 CE a UNESCO 1998 (the most precisely Urbino history: the Montefeltro (the lords of Urbino from 1234 CE: a minor lordship that Federico da Montefeltro transformed into one of the most important cultural centres of the Renaissance): the condottiere career (Federico was hired by every major power in Italy: he fought for the Papacy (1460-1461 CE, 1466-1468 CE), for Florence against Milan, for Naples against Florence (the Pazzi War 1478-1480 CE), and for the Holy League against the Turks: his reputation for never breaking a contract and never betraying an employer made him the most trusted condottiere in Italy; his annual income from war was approximately 80,000 ducats): the library (Federico’s manuscript collection was the second largest in Italy after the Vatican: after his death in 1482 CE, the library passed to his son Guidobaldo I (1472-1508 CE): after the Papal annexation of Urbino in 1631 CE, Pope Alexander VII sent the entire library (1,000+ manuscripts) to the Vatican Library (where many of them remain today)): Raffaello (Raphael Sanzio (1483-1520 CE): born in Urbino: his father Giovanni Santi (1435-1494 CE) was the court painter of Federico; Raphael grew up in the Palazzo Ducale; the house where Raphael was born (Casa Natale di Raffaello, Via Raffaello) is now a museum).
What you see
Il Palazzo Ducale (250 stanze su 5 piani: il Cortile d’Onore (1470 CE: la proporzione perfetta, il colonnato in pietra d’Istria): i Torricini (le due torri cilindriche gemelle sul prospetto ovest: la facciata più bella del palazzo, visibile da tutta la città)); la Galleria Nazionale delle Marche (le stanze del piano nobile: la “Flagellazione” di Piero della Francesca; la “La Muta” di Raffaello (c.1507 CE); la “Madonna di Senigallia” di Piero della Francesca; lo Studiolo di Federico): il Duomo di Urbino (1789 CE, Giuseppe Valadier: la facciata neoclassica; la Cappella Albani con opere di Federico Barocci (1535-1612 CE)): Casa Natale di Raffaello (Via Raffaello: la casa in cui Raffaello nacque il 28 marzo o il 6 aprile 1483 CE (entrambe le date sono accettate dagli storici): gli affreschi del padre Giovanni Santi nelle stanze al piano terra).
Practical information
- Galleria Nazionale delle Marche (Palazzo Ducale): 8:30-19:15 (mar-dom), 8:30-13:30 (lun); biglietto €12
- Casa Natale di Raffaello: 9:00-13:00 e 14:00-18:00 (lun-sab), 10:00-13:00 (dom); biglietto €4
- Scalinate: il centro storico è tutto in salita (la rocca è a 485 m; le salite sono ripide); comode scarpe da passeggio obbligatorie; scale mobili pubbliche disponibili dal Parcheggio Mercatale
Getting there
Con l’auto da Rimini (50 km, 45 min): non raggiungibile in treno diretto (la stazione più vicina è Pesaro, 34 km, con autobus di collegamento): aeroporto più vicino: Ancona Falconara (AOI, 80 km).
Nearby
- Pesaro (34 km): la Rossini house (Gioacchino Rossini 1792-1868 CE: nato a Pesaro); il Museo Civico (le maioliche pesaresi del XV-XVI sec.)
- Repubblica di San Marino (60 km): la più piccola repubblica del mondo (61 km2); il Monte Titano (739 m) con le 3 torri medievali (Guaita 1120 CE, Cesta 1253 CE, Montale 1300 CE)
Gallery
Sources
- UNESCO World Heritage List: “Historic Centre of Urbino”, rif. 828 (whc.unesco.org/en/list/828)
- Clough, Cecil H.: “Federico da Montefeltro: The Good Christian Prince”, Bulletin of the John Rylands Library, 1985
- Field, J.V.: “Piero della Francesca: A Mathematician’s Art”, Yale University Press, New Haven 2005
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