The Ducal Palace
From the central Piazza San Cristoforo, along Corso Vittorio Emanuele II, you reach the Ducal Palace that dominates the historic centre of the City. The monumental building, of about 6,000 square metres, commissioned by the Montefeltro-Della Rovere family, was erected at the end of the 15th century on top of a pre-existing Brancaleoni fortress.
The Ducal Palace overlooks the Metauro River with a hanging loggia and two cylindrical towers and today is an important cultural point of reference for the entire valley.
In fact, inside, there is space for the Library, the Civic Museum, the Mu.S.A.A. – Museum of the History of Agriculture and Crafts and the ceramic workshops. A driving force of events, exhibitions and research, the Ducal Palace is the beating heart of the town.
A visit to the palace allows you to discover one of the favourite residences of the Dukes of Urbino. The last duke, Francesco Maria II Della Rovere, lived there for almost half a century, until his death in 1631, the year in which the duchy passed to the Papal States. The palace also housed his prized library, consisting of over 40,000 volumes; some of them are still visible in the Civic Museum, together with collections of ancient drawings, engravings, manuscripts, the art gallery and the famous globes of the cartographer Mercatore. A recent archaeological section and a wing dedicated to ceramics complete the visit.
The external architecture retains the dual identity of fortification and court palace, reflecting both the warrior character of the ducal lordship and the refined courtly culture. The large complex was designed by the architect Francesco Di Giorgio Martini in 1470 and later completed by the architect Girolamo Genga and the entrance, with the large courtyard surrounded on four sides by arches supported by twenty-two columns, is an invitation to a pleasant visit to discover the treasures of its collections.
Not to be missed in the museum::
- the wonderful print of the Triumph of Charles V
- the drawings of Raffaellino del Colle and Federico Barocci
- the Comedy of Dante Alighieri published in 1491 and a 1528 volume of the Courtier by Baldassar Castiglione
- the two famous globes of Gerardo Mercatore, inventor of the modern system of nautical charts, one terrestrial (1541), the other celestial (1551), works of inestimable value.
Mu.S.A.A.-Museum of the History of Agriculture and Crafts
The cellars of the Ducal Palace host the Museum of the History of Agriculture and Crafts, which displays work tools relating to the cycles of wheat, vines and wine, from the first agricultural revolution to the contemporary age. The museum-educational route winds through rooms that house vats, presses and barrels, up to the section dedicated to the work of the cooper and the room for food conservation. The route connects to the fascinating spiral ramp inside the cylindrical tower designed by Francesco di Giorgio Martini.
