The Renaissance City of Urbino

The first port of the cruise after we left Venice was Ascona, in order to visit Urbino.  It was necessary to take a 1 ½ hour coach trip into the hills.  Given our 7:30 start and the fact that I had visited this UNESCO World Heritage site before, I was beginning to doubt my decision to go on this excursion almost before we started.

For background, Ancona is situated on the west coast of the Adriatic Sea in the Marche region of central Italy.  It is the capital of the region with the same name.  Not only is it one of the main ports on the Adriatic but it is also the main economic and demographic centre of the region.  Its population is about 104,000.  The area was first settled by Greeks from Syracuse in 387 BC but fell into Roman occupation around 178 BC.  The last century has seen Ancona suffer greatly from two World Wars.

For us, Ancona was the gateway to the charming walled Renaissance city of Urbino.  Not only is it known for the Renaissance but it is also the birthplace of the artist, Raphael.  The town is nestled on a high sloping hillside and it retains much of its picturesque medieval character.  It hosts the University of Urbino which was founded in 1506 and it is also the seat of the Archbishop of Urbino. 

Our first stop, after climbing the rather steep hill from the bus parking lot, was the Palazzo Ducale of Urbino, one of the finest examples of the architectural styles of the Renaissance period.  It was built by Federico de Montefeltro, Duke of Urbino from 1444 to 1482.  It houses a comprehensive library as well as wonderful paintings my masters including Piero della Francesco, Raphael and Titian.  Unfortunately, most of the treasures from this palace have been moved to the Vatican in Rome and many others are in Florence.  

The significance of this painting is that it is considered one of
the earliest Renaissance paintings to use "perspective"

Raphael's Portrait of  Lady

Urbino also has a lovely Duomo (currently being restored) the façade of which was built in 1789. 

Our next stop was the house which was the birthplace of Raphael.  It is where he lived until he was 14.  It is still decorated with furniture from the Renaissance period.  Personally, I found it a bit underwhelming and so, apparently, did others in my group.  When the guide asked us if we wanted to see the upstairs or not, the resounding response was no!  

After that we were given some free time to explore.  I went to the main square (Piazza della Repubblica) and had lunch.  It consisted of the local specialty, cresia which is a sort of cross between a panini and a quesadilla.  It is a flatbread baked with cheese on it, filled with various stuffings and folded over.  I had a cresia primavera which had tomatoes and mozzarella cheese.  It was tasty and only €7.  I also ordered a glass of a local Urbino white wine which was only €2.50, a far cry from the €7 or 8 (or much more) which I had been paying for a glass of wine in Venice.

Following our free time, we walked back to the bus – which, interestingly, was parked at the bottom of a 7 story shopping centre which had elevators and escalators.  It wasn’t lost on us that it would have been a lot better if we had started our tour here so we could have used modern technology to get us to the top of the steep hill!