San Leo and Urbino, from Montefeltro to the Renaissance

Forte di San Leo 60 min

A fortress on a rock mass with sheer walls, redesigned in the fifteenth century by Francesco di Giorgio Martini for Federico da Montefeltro. Machiavelli considered it one of the finest military works in Italy. Later it became a prison of the Papal States: here Giuseppe Balsamo, Count Cagliostro, alchemist and adventurer, was imprisoned and died in 1795. You can visit his cell, the 'pozzetto', where food arrived through a trapdoor in the ceiling.

Separate ticket; in winter open with reduced hours.

Pieve di Santa Maria Assunta 15 min

One of the oldest churches in the area, pre-Romanesque, built in stone between the ninth and eleventh centuries. Inside it is bare and silent, with the ninth-century ciborium above the altar.

Free admission.

Duomo di San Leone and civic tower 15 min

The Romanesque cathedral of 1173, in sandstone, dedicated to San Leone, the companion of San Marino who evangelised the mountain and gave it his name. Beside it, the bell tower on a hillock. In the village, a plaque recalls the verse from Purgatorio in which Dante mentions San Leo; and another commemorates the visit of St Francis in 1213, when he received the gift of Monte della Verna.

Free admission.

Palazzo Ducale and Galleria Nazionale delle Marche 90 min

The palace of Federico da Montefeltro, built with Luciano Laurana and Francesco di Giorgio Martini: from outside the two slender towers of the Torricini, inside the courtyard of honour, one of the most harmonious of the Renaissance, and the Duke's Studiolo, entirely clad in wood inlay that looks like half-open cupboards. The gallery holds masterpieces such as the Flagellation and the Madonna di Senigallia by Piero della Francesca, the Città ideale and La Muta by Raphael.

Closed on Mondays; for groups it is advisable to book.

Casa natale di Raffaello 25 min

The house where Raphael Sanzio was born in 1483, son of the painter Giovanni Santi. In the room where he was born there is a fresco of the Madonna and Child which tradition attributes to the very young Raphael. His father's workshop is on the ground floor, with the courtyard and the stone for grinding colours.

Separate ticket.

Oratorio di San Giovanni Battista 15 min

A small church entirely frescoed in 1416 by the brothers Lorenzo and Jacopo Salimbeni with the stories of St John the Baptist: vivid colours, scenes full of everyday life, the finest Gothic painting in the Marche.

Limited opening hours: check beforehand.

Cathedral and streets of the centre 15 min

The neoclassical cathedral beside the palace, the steep brick streets with students from the university, one of the oldest in Italy, and the view over the hills from the square of the Fortezza Albornoz if time remains.