Among the beautiful things I have always felt while studying there is the possibility to get to know new things, people and places and this curiosity I can still see now: Urbino what to see, being a teacher, learning for me is an exciting necessity that has also allowed me to find fantastic places to visit.
For example, for years I have been following the coding courses organised by the University of Urbino in Mooc mode by prof. Alessandro Bogliolo. Thanks to the lessons and references often present in the city Marche Region, seat of the prestigious University, I decided to spend some time at the day in Urbino during the spring holidays.
Urbino where it is located
The city of Urbino is located in the Marches, precisely in the province of Pesaro and Urbino. It was one of the most important cities of the Italian Renaissance and the architectural style fully reflects its characteristics. Since 1998 its historical centre has been declared a UNESCO World Heritage Site.
What to see in Urbino
Urbino presents itself as a real jewel set in a setting among the gentle hills with which the territory welcomes tourists. Enclosed in precious historical walls, easily accessible from the helical ramps well preserved in the bastion at the foot of the Torricini of the Ducal Palace.
Climbing up the ancient ramps you immediately feel the sensation of the uprightness that characterizes Urbino, confirming the geometrical and Renaissance by Federico da Montefeltro. The ramps are very spacious and well illuminated, passable (and personally tested) even with the pram from children. After walking along the ramps you come out on one of the most characteristic roads of the centre, the street of the theatre: on one side stretches the Raffaello Theatre, built on the bastion in 1800, on the other side the Ducal Palace with all of its impressiveness and its charm.
Urbino is very striking for the care with which the monuments, the whole of the centre and the streets are kept and as a whole represent one of the most significant UNESCO World Heritage Sites in Italy.
The Ducal Palace of Urbino
As first destination we have chosen the visit to the Ducal Palace. In reality is a real fortified town, able to fascinate the great and children The ducal palace houses the famous painting “the ideal city”, undisputed symbol of the Renaissance in terms of art, urban planning and emblem for the management of power during that time. The Ducal Palace itself would be had to be a symbol of all this and indeed it has become one. The Ducal Palace is a real treasure chest of art treasures and the history of scientific research: in these rooms numerous artists have stayed and worked at the court of the Duke of Urbino. There are numerous environments and glimpses that strike while walking in the palace and its gardens: a special place deserves “the studiolo” rich in finely carved wooden inlays decorated with the perspective games of the Renaissance.
The National Gallery of Marche
The Ducal Palace of Urbino houses the National Gallery of the Marche: the exhibition includes paintings from 1300 to 1600, mainly paintings and pictures on different materials. What makes this gallery special? In addition to the place where it is housed, which is its natural cradle, certainly the possibility of a systematic and very intuitive approach to the history of Italian painting. Room after room, the chronological trend of the works collected makes even tourists who are less expert in art and children perceive the great axes on which Italian painting has developed. The themes, the colours, the management of light and shadows, the perspective of environments and characters flow before the eyes as a natural and complete succession. In these passages the great themes and changes in painting are thus evoked, as well as the political and cultural history of our country from the Middle Ages to the early Baroque. The works are exhibited on the floors where the Duke and his family lived, thus also conveying the concept of dwelling in early Humanism.
Among the most important works that we have been able to admire “The The desecration of the host” by Raffaello, “The desecration of the host” by Paolo Uccello and Titian’s “Resurrection and Last Supper” and, of course, “The Ideal City”.
On the ground floor, around a pretty cloister that at the back offers benches and tables for some lovely stops, there is an archaeological collection of epigraphs from ancient Rome to the early Middle Ages concerning both public and sacred communication.
During our stay we had the opportunity to see an exhibition dedicated to the genius of Leonardo, which has Urbino has stayed, and his experiments, from pendulums to gravitational waves, passing through the experiments of strength and vision in physics: “In the sign of Leonardo”.
One of the characteristics of the National Gallery is the proposal of high accessibility to the museum: next to the most important paintings are placed side by side with casts that reproduce the body masses and the provisions together with explanations in Brail. This offers the possibility even blind people to be able to enjoy the aesthetic experience of a framework, as provided for in the MIBAC “Homer” project aimed at the construction of a state tactile museum.
The Cathedral of Urbino
Leaving the Doge’s Palace we walked through the square of the Renaissance to the adjacent Cathedral of Urbino.
The Dome of Urbino, built in the current appearance in the style of neoclassical at the end of 1700.
The house of Raffaello
Following the main road from Piazza della Repubblica to Pian of the mountain, we cross a network of alleys, streets and small squares which constitute a labyrinth of palaces and evocative past. On the street there is the birthplace of Raphael in which are collected some of the artist’s youthful works: temporary exhibitions and typical structure of a renaissance house and workshop are the elements that are can notice by visiting it. The artist’s birthplace was acquired at the end of the nineteenth century by the Raphael Academy.
Resistance Park and Albornoz Fortress
At the end of the road there is an equipped park, while proceeding towards the Albornoz Fortress and Resistance Park, we meet points breathtaking panoramic views.
On the trail of personalities and events.
Many are the characters linked to Urbino for different stays. Among them the poet Pascoli, who in his poem “L’aquilone” recalls the years spent at the city college. Among the most important events taking place in Urbino are “Urbino e le città del libro” from 18th to 20th May and the Kite Festival, in the first week of September.
In the last week of August takes place the “Coding Summer School” open to teachers and all thought enthusiasts computational.
What to eat in Urbino
In Urbino you can find the tasty interweaving between local products and the happy contamination of nearby Romagna and Tuscany. One of the emblems of this culinary encounter is the piadina di Urbino called “Crescia sfogliata”.
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