Urbino is a historic city, the center of which has been on the UNESCO list since 1998. There is the Ducal Palace, considered an excellent example of the Italian Renaissance, and the birthplace of Raphael Santi.
The city experienced its greatest boom since the 15th century, when it became an independent principality ruled by the Montefeltro family. Its representatives were patrons of art and culture, thanks to which Urbino hosted many architects and Renaissance painters. They left behind their legacy which led to the inclusion of the city on the UNESCO list.
The Ducal Palace, standing in the center of the historic part, is the biggest attraction and the main monument of Urbino. Built in the 15th century at the behest of Federico da Montefeltro by the Florentine architect Maso di Bartolomeo, it is an example of a developed Italian Renaissance. It now houses the National Marche Gallery, which boasts one of the richest collections of Renaissance paintings in Italy.
Urbino's Old Town is full of historic palaces, tenement houses and churches from different eras. Although buildings from the 15th to 17th centuries predominate, there is also a neoclassical cathedral or an 18th-century Piarist school building. You can see here, among others the house where Raphael was born. Currently, there is a museum dedicated to this artist.
