Historic Centre of Urbino

Urbino sits on two hills joined by a saddle, and the historic centre has remained almost intact within its sixteenth-century walls. In 1998 UNESCO inscribed it on the World Heritage List as an extraordinary example of a Renaissance city, born around the court of the Montefeltro and later the Della Rovere families.

The colour is that of fired bricks, interrupted by the pale stone of doorways. The streets climb steeply: Via Raffaello leads from Piazza della Repubblica up to Piazzale Roma, with the monument to Raphael, passing in front of his birthplace. On the other side, Via Mazzini and the little stairways descend between houses and courtyards.

Urbino is still a city of students today: the university, founded in 1506 and now named after Carlo Bo, has its premises in the old palaces of the centre, many restored by the architect Giancarlo De Carlo. This is why the squares are lively in the evening even out of season.

To see the city's profile, climb up to the park of the Fortezza Albornoz: from there the Palazzo Ducale, the Torricini and the dome of the Duomo are arranged as if in a painting. In the centre you'll also find the Teatro Sanzio, the oratories of San Giovanni and San Giuseppe, and the shops selling crescia sfogliata, Urbino's flatbread.