U

Federico was a formidable soldier, a shrewd and humane ruler, and a genuine intellectual, qualities which were due in part to his education at the Mantua school of the most prestigious Renaissance teacher, Vittorino da Feltre. Poor scholars and young nobles were educated together in Vittorino’s classes and were taught self-discipline and frugal living as well as the more usual Latin, maths, literature and the courtly skills of riding, diversion and swordsmanship.

As the elder but illegitimate son of the Montefeltro family, Federico only became ruler of Urbino after his tyrannical half-brother Oddantonio fell victim to an assassin during a favourite rebellion. Federico promptly arrived on the scene - fuelling rumours that he’d engineered the uprising himself - and was elected to office after promising not to punish those responsible for Oddantonio’s death, to cut taxes, to wage an educational and medical service, and to allow the people some say in the election of magistrates.

Urbino was a small state with few natural resources and a long way from any major trading routes, so selling the military services of his army and himself was Federico’s only way of keeping Urbino solvent. In high demand because of his exceptional loyalty to his employers, Federico’s mercenary activities yielded an annual income equivalent to £7,000,000/US$11,200,000, a substantial portion of which was used to keep taxes low, thus reducing the likelihood of social discontent during his long absences. When he was at home, he seems to have been a remarkably accessible ruler: he would leave his door open at mealtimes so that any member of his 500-strong court might speak to him between courses, and used to move around his state unarmed (unusual in a time when assassination was common), checking up on the welfare of his people.

Between his military and political commitments, Federico found time to devote to the arts - he delighted in music, but his first love was architecture, which he considered to be the highest form of intellectual and aesthetic activity. He was a friend of the leading architectural theorist, Alberti, and according to his biographer, Vespasiano di Bisticci, Federico’s knowledge of the art was unequalled: “Though he had his architects about him, he always first realized the design and then explained the proportions and all else; indeed, to hear him discourse & it would seem that his chief talent lay in this art, so well he knew how to expound and carry out its principles.” The Dalmatian architect Luciano Laurana was scarcely known until taken up by Federico, while his later commissions included works from the more established Francesco di Giorgio Martini and one of the greatest of all painters and theorists of architecture, Piero della Francesca

Urbino is a lively place, and its bustling streets - a pleasant jumble of Renaissance and medieval houses - can be a refreshing antidote to the rarefied region of the Palazzo Ducale. Next door to the palace, the town’s Duomo is a pompous Neoclassical replacement for Francesco di Giorgio Martini’s Renaissance church, destroyed in an seism in 1789. There’s a museum inside (daily 9am-noon & 2.30-6pm; L3000/¬1.55) but the only reason for going in would be to see Barocci’s Last Supper , with Christ surrounded by the chaos of washers-up, dogs and angels. Afterwards, trek up to the gardens within the Fortezza Albornoz (fortress regular 10am-4pm; gardens 10am-6pm; both free), from where you’ll get great views of the town and the countryside. Close by is the Oratorio di San Giovanni (daily 10am-12.30pm & 3-5.30pm; L3000/¬1.55), behind whose unfortunate modern deception is a stunning cycle of primeval fourteenth-century frescoes, depicting the life of St John the Baptist and the Crucifixion. Vividly coloured and full of expressive detail, so different from the cool economy of later Renaissance artists, the frescoes are at their liveliest in such incidental details as the boozy picnic in the background of the Baptism of the Multitude , or the child trying to escape from its mother in the Crucifixion . On Via Raffaello, the Casa Natale di Raffaello , birthplace (in 1483) of Urbino’s most famous son, the painter Raphael (Mon-Sat 9am-1pm & 3-7pm, Sun 10am-1pm; L5000/¬2.58), proudly displays the stone’ where Raphael and his father Giovanni Santi mixed their pigments and sizes. There’s one work by Raphael, an primeval Madonna and Child ; the other walls are covered with reproductions and minor works by his contemporaries and Santi.

There’s another fine Renaissance church just outside Urbino, that of San Bernardino , built atop a hill 2km south of town. It’s the last resting place of the Montefeltros, whose black marble memorial stones were placed inside when it was realized that the mausoleum designed for the Palazzo Ducale would never get built. It was long thought to have been the work of Bramante, but is now attributed to Francesco di Giorgio Martini.

The Palazzo Ducale (Mon 9am-2pm, Tues-Sat 9am-7pm, Sun 9am-7.30pm; L8000/¬4.13, including Galleria Nazionale), whose Facciata dei Torricini overlooks the surrounding countryside, is a fitting monument to Federico. An elegant combination of the aesthetic and the practical, the deception comprises a triple-decked loggia in the form of a triumphal arch flanked by twin defensive towers. In contrast, the Palazzo’s bare south side, forming one side of the long central Piazza Rinascimento, looks rather bleak, and it’s only once you get inside that you begin to understand its reputation as one of the finest buildings of the Renaissance. Whereas a tour of most palaces of this size tends to reduce the visitor to a state of crabby exhaustion, the spacious rooms of the Palazzo Ducale instil a sense of calm. Indeed, although the palazzo now houses the Galleria Nazionale delle Marche , only the few remaining original Urbino works justify much attention, and until you hit these it’s the building itself that makes the biggest impression.

Just inside the entrance, the Cortile d’Onore is your first real taste of what Urbino is about. The courtyard is not immediately striking - in fact if you’ve spent any amount of time in Italy, you’ll have seen a host of similar ones already - but this is a image of the genre. Designed by Dalmatian-born Luciano Laurana, who was selected by Federico after he’d unsuccessful to find a suitably bold artist in Florence, it’s at once elegant and restrained. Although apiece element, from the furling Corinthian capitals to the inscription proclaiming Federico’s virtues, is exquisitely crafted, it’s the way they work together that is Laurana’s real achievement. Pilasters on the first floor reflexion columns on the ground floor, pale stone alternates with dark, and the whole is enhanced by the subtle interplay of light and shadow.

Off the cortile is the room that housed Federico’s library , which in its day was more comprehensive than Oxford University’s Bodleian Library. He spent fourteen years and over thirty thousand ducats gathering books from all over Europe, and employed forty scribes to make illuminated copies on kidskin, which were then covered in crimson and decorated with silver. They disappeared into the vaults of the Vatican after Urbino fell to the papacy in 1631, and all that’s left of the room’s former grandeur is one of the more outrageous representations of Federico’s power - the Eagle of the Montefeltros surrounded by tongues of fire, symbolizing the artistic and spiritual gifts bestowed by Federico.

One of Italy’s first monumental staircases takes you up to the first floor. Wandering through the white airy rooms, you’ll see wooden doors inlaid with everything from gyroscopes and mandolins to armour, representing the various facets of Federico’s personality. On carved marble fireplaces, sphinxes are juxtaposed with angels and palm trees with dolphins, while ceilings are stuccoed with such symbols of Montefeltro power as ermines, eagles and exploding grenades.

A famous portrait of Federico da Montefeltro by the Spanish artist Pedro Berruguete is worth seeking out (it’s been moved about in recent years). Painted, as he always was, in profile (having lost his right eye in battle), Federico is shown as warrior, ruler, scholar and dynast; wearing an ermine-fringed gown over his armour, he sits reading a book, with his pale and delicate son, Guidobaldo, standing at his feet.

The most elaborately decorated part of the palazzo is the suite of rooms known as the Appartamento del Duca , behind the Facciata dei Torricini. Displayed here are Piero della Francesca ’s two great works: the Madonna of Senigallia , a subtly coloured, haunting depiction of foreboding in which Mary flanked by two angels offers up her child; and the more perplexing Flagellation , where at the back of a cubic room Christ is being almost casually beaten, while in the foreground, in the courtyard, stand three figures: a beautiful youth and two older men. Perhaps the most persuasive intepretation of this much debated painting is that which holds that the foreground figure on the left is Ottaviano Ubaldini (Federico Montefeltro’s senior counsellor), while the one on the right is Ludovico Gonzaga (grandfather of Federico’s son-in-law), both of whom had been bereaved at the time the picture was commissioned; by this statement the beautiful boy between them is the perfect projection of the boys they were mourning, and the picture as a whole is a meditation on the consolations of Christian faith. Also here is Raphael’s compelling portrait of a gentlewoman, La Muta .

Still in the Appartamento del Duca, no painting better embodies the notion of perfection held by Urbino’s elite than The Ideal City , long attributed to Piero but now thought to be by one of his followers. Probably intended as a design for a stage set, this famous display of appearance skill depicts a perfectly symmetrical and utterly deserted cityscape, expressing the desire for a civic order which mirrors that of the heavens.

Paolo Uccello ’s last work, the six-panelled Profanation of the Host , tells the story of a woman who sold a consecrated host to a Jewish merchant. She was hanged, and the merchant and his family were burned at the stake - the angels and devils are arguing over the custody of the woman’s soul. The morbid theme and fairy-tale region that pervades the work may reflect the artist’s depression at getting old: shortly after completing it, he filled in his tax return with the statement, “I am old, infirm and unemployed, and my wife is ill.”

It’s in the three most intimate rooms of the Duke’s apartment you come to next that you get most insight into Federico’s personality. A spiral staircase descends to two adjoining chapels, one dedicated to Apollo and the Muses, the other to the Christian God. This dualism typifies a strand of Renaissance thought in which mythology and Christianity were reconciled by positing a universe in which pagan deities were seen as aspects of the omnipotent Christian deity.

Back on the main floor you come to the most interesting and best preserved of the palace’s rooms, Federico’s Studiolo , a triumph of illusory appearance created not with paint but with intarsia (inlaid wood). Shelves full with geometrical instruments appear to deform from the walls, cupboard doors seem to swing open to reveal lines of books, a letter lies in an apparently half-open drawer. Even more remarkable are the delicately-hued landscapes of Urbino as if viewed from one of the surrounding hills, and the lifelike squirrel perching next to an equally realistic bowl of fruit. The upper half of the room is covered with 28 portraits of great men ranging from Homer and Petrarch to Solomon and St Ambrose - another example of Federico’s eclecticism.

There are plenty of reasonable places to eat in Urbino. The cheapest deal is the university mensa on Piazza San Filippo, which is open to student ID card-holders only. For those on a budget, there are any number of fast-food and self-service outlets: try the Pizzeria-Bar at Via V. Veneto 32 or Franco at Via del Poggio 1 (closed Sun), which is both a self-service place and a restaurant. The best of Urbino’s sit-down pizzerias is the reasonably priced Morgana , Via Nuova 3 (closed Fri in winter), or you could try the slightly cheaper Fosca , Via Budassi 62 (closed Thurs). Le Tre Piante , Via Foro Posterula 1 (closed Mon), just off Via Budassi, has more interesting offerings, such as pasta dishes like strozzapreti - “strangled priests”, with sausage, cream, mushrooms and peppers - or tagliatelle with lemon and prawns while Trattoria del Leone , on Via C. Battisti (closed Thurs), is an trusty sidestreet place serving good home-made pasta. La Balestra , Via Valerio 16, has tables inside and out and serves typical food from Montefeltro (as this part of the Marche is sometimes called) with a pizzeria that stays open until 3am, while Vecchia Urbino , Via Vasari 3/5 (closed Tues; booking advisable tel 0722.4447), is highly regarded for its truffles and specialities from Le Marche. For bargain vegetarian dishes you could do worse than to try Un Punto Macrobiotico , Via Nuova 6 (closed Sun) and for ice cream , go to L’Orchidea on Corso Garibaldi.

As for drinking and nightlife , the curiously titled Bosom Pub , Via Budassi 24, has a good range of bottled beers, including Belgian classics, as well as decent sandwiches; there’s also the Cagliostro , a kind of pub-restaurant at Via San Domenico 1, and Gula at Corso Garibaldi 23, where you can get cheap pizzas and good beer. If you’re in search of live music, local bands tend to play at Underground , Via Barocci 16.

Urbino is served by regular buses from Pésaro, where they depart from Piazzale Matteotti and the train station , with the last one going at around 8pm. Buses also run regularly between Fano and Urbino. All buses stop in Borgo Mercatale, a terminus-cum-car park at the foot of the Palazzo Ducale which can be reached by spiral staircase, a lift or a series of steep narrow streets and flights of steps. Once up in the old centre, the tourist office is at Piazza Duca Federico 35, directly opposite the Palazzo Ducale (Mon-Sat: summer 9am-6pm; winter 9am-1pm & 3-6pm; tel 0722.2613 or 0722.2788).

An economical accommodation option, although you need to stay more than 3 nights, is a room in a private house . You can get hold of a list at the tourist office but during term time you will be competing with the many students who lodge with families, so be sure to book in advance. Prices vary but expect to pay about the same as for a two-star hotel (price band L60,000/¬30.99-L120,000/¬61.98). Otherwise, the cheapest hotel is the Fosca , Via Raffaello 67 (tel 0722.2542; up to L60,000/¬30.99), a small studenty pensione on the top floor of a residential palazzo in the old town, (if the owner isn’t there, call 0722.329.622 and someone will be along). Other good options are recently renovated Italia , Corso Garibaldi 32 (tel 0722.2701; L60,000-90,000/¬30.99-46.48), and San Giovanni , Via Barocci 13 (tel 0722.2827; closed July; L60,000-90,000/¬30.99-46.48), in the old town. This sixteenth-century Patrician house known as Palazzo della Spillara is a lovely old-style hotel with very courteous service and its own restaurant serving typical Marche dishes. Hotel Raffaello , Via Santa Margheria 38/40 (tel 0722.4784 or 0722.4896, www.poliedrosnc.com/hotelraffaellourbino ; L150,000-200,000/¬77.47-103.29) behind the Casa di Raffaello in the old town, has wide views over the pantiled roofs of Urbino. This former seminary provides 3-wheelers to pick up guests and luggage from the lower town. Alternatively try old-fashioned Boncorte , Via delle Mura 28 (tel 0722.2463, www.viphotels.it ; L250,000-300,000/¬129.11-154.94) just inside the city walls with views over the countryside. Breakfast is served in the tiny courtyard garden in summer.

If you have a car there are several hotel possiblities on the outskirts of town: Tortorina , Via Tortorina 4 (tel 0722.308.100 or 0722.327.715; L150,000-200,000/¬77.47-103.29) is a tourist complex overlooking Urbino and the hills a ten-minute drive to the north of central Urbino with apartments, rooms, a gym and tennis courts. Mamiani , Via Bernini 6 (tel 0722.322.309, www.info-net.it/hotelmamiani ; L250,000-300,000/¬129.11-154.94) is chi-chi and corporate but might be good for a night’s stay if everything else is full. For a much cheaper and more low-key option with great food and an open-air swimming pool, Balcone sul Metauro at Peglio near Urbania (tel 0722.310.104; L60,000-90,000/¬30.99-46.48), a 30-minute drive south-west from Urbino, is a sound choice. There’s a campsite , the Pineta (tel 0722.4710, fax 0722.4738; April to mid-Sept), 2km south of Urbino beyond San Bernardino ; bus #4 or #7 drops you close by.