Unmissable Excursions: PESARO, URBINO ET MONTEFELTRO
Pesaro Urbino is the northernmost province in the Marches. Situated between the Adriatic sea and the Appenines and bounded by Romagna, Tuscany and Umbria, this area holds a strategic tourist importance.
The most striking aspect of this land is the wide range of its colours, which change with the seasons offering a striking variety of unique sensations, distributed in the green colour of the forests and the blue of the sky and merged into a harmonious whole. History and landscape form a single entity. Urbino maintains the atmosphere of the ideal town of the Italian Renaissance.
The town is surrounded by the Montefeltro region, where you can find several fortresses and historical relics still surviving on steep cliffs, shrines and parish churches standing in the middle of open pastures or just outside a forest, and admire magnificent palaces and imposing ducal courts. The tasty, elaborate and inexhaustible food and wine offer is an invitation to enjoy the hospitality of this “beautiful Province”.
PESARO was founded by the Romans in 184 b.C. as a colony on the land of the Piceni, the ancient civilization living in the Marches during the Iron Age. Destroyed by Vitige in 539 A.D., the town was re-built by Belisario and occupied by the Goths from 545 to 553. Following the fall of Rome, Pesaro became one of the towns of the Pentapolis – together with Rimini, Fano, Senigallia and Ancona – and was controlled by the Byzantine exarchate of Ravenna.
PALAIS DUCAL :was built in the second half of the 15th century under Alessandro Sforza. The façade presents an arcade with six arches supported by heavy ashlar pillars and, on a higher level, five windows surrounded by coats of arms, swags and putti. The right side (the only visible side) features the final arch of the gothic arcade and, on a higher level, two big windows – which are similar to the ones on the façade although they are not encircled by the same representations.
BASILIQUE CATHÉDRALE: which has recently been renovated, was built during the Romanesque age on top of the remains of a late-Roman building. The façade, which presents a Romanesque-Gothic style, was left unfinished: it consists of an ogival portal with an upper fillet of small arches. Of great importance are the many mosaics, which have recently been restored to their original splendour. The massive Costanza Fortress, once a jail, is currently awaiting its new destination.
The little HOUSE where Giocchino Rossini was born is only a few metres away from the Ducal Palace and is flanked by two typical workshops of the 18th century. Dating back to the 15th century, this square structure is strengthened by cylindrical towers and is surrounded by a wide moat. The building houses a museum dedicated to the famous musician and composer, including a collection of posters, prints and portraits.
URBINO is the ancient capital of the duchy of Montefeltro and rises at the top of two hills, with the roof of the houses and churches sloping down towards the north-easterly Lavagine Gate and the south-westerly Valbona Gate. It is one of the main tourist attractions in the world, thanks to its history, monuments and numerous works of art.
The strategic position of the town encouraged its participation in the medieval feudal fights. Urbino sided with the Ghibellines supporting the Crown and, after suppressing a riot against Emperor Frederick Barbarossa (‘Redbeard’) in Rome, Antonio da Montefeltro gained the title of duke and was appointed imperial deputy of Urbino. This episode marked the beginning of the strong bond that linked the town to the Montefeltro dynasty and lasted until the extinction of the family, not without experiencing some difficult and contrasting moments.
Urbino achieved increasing artistic splendour especially after the Montefeltro family had established their territorial supremacy. It was duke Federico who ordered to extend and embellish the old medieval family residence, which was renovated by Luciano Laurana first and by Giorgio Martini then. The building was transformed into the magnificent Ducal Palace, an absolute masterpiece of the Renaissance and current seat of the prestigious National Gallery of the Marches, which displays many outstanding paintings such as the “Flagellation" and the "Virgin of Senigallia" by Piero della Francesca and the "Muta" by Raphael.
Wandering around Urbino and walking down its steep little streets you get the feeling of a great urban mosaic still bearing the signs of a long artistic and cultural life: from the neo-Palladian solid Cathedral to the magnificent travertine portal of St. Dominik’s Church; from the medieval St. Francis’s Church, featuring a beautiful Gothic cuspidated bell tower and the large altar-piece by Federico Barocci, to St. Joseph’s oratory housing the famous ‘Nativity Scene’ by Brandani; from the Albani Palace to the nearby Church of the Holy Spirit, or to Raphael’s native house which is the head office of the homonymous Academy founded in 1869.
Higher up you can admire the Albornoz Fortress and, back down in the valley, you can enjoy a wonderful urban view from Borgo Mercatale with the massive semi-cylindrical structure housing the 15 th century helicoidal Ramp by Francesco di Giorgio Martini, dominated by the 19th century solid building of the Theatre named after Raphael and by the Cathedral apses, dome and bell tower, flanked by the large windows of the roof garden and by the monumental west frontage of the Ducal Palace.
Finally you can enjoy the university side of Urbino, with the Free University and its modern buildings, the Advanced School for the Artistic Industries (ISIA, Istituto Superiore per le Industrie Artistiche) which is housed in the magnificent former convent of St. Clare, and the so called 'Book School’ boasting a well deserved good reputation for discovering numerous talented artists in the field of graphics and engraving.
Every year in August the ‘Duke Festival’ is celebrated in Urbino: it’s a historical re-enacment in traditional costumes which takes place in the town centre and which is livened up by acrobats and fire-eaters. The most exciting moment of this event is the traditional challenge of the counties which is held in the presence of the Ducal Court.
