Fortezza Albornoz, Urbino

The fortress stands on the highest point of Monte San Sergio. It bears the name of the Spanish cardinal Egidio Albornoz, who in the mid-14th century brought the Church lands back under papal control, though some studies attribute it to his successor. It was built in the second half of the 14th century, when the previous fortress was no longer sufficient to defend the city.

In the 16th century, with the Rovere walls, it was linked to the city's fortifications; in 1673 it passed to the Discalced Carmelites of the nearby convent, now home to the Academy of Fine Arts. Rebuilt in the Napoleonic era for military use, it is entirely brick-built, rectangular, with two semicircular towers and bastions.

Since 1975 the space in front of the fortress has been a public park, dedicated to the Resistance. It is Urbino's most famous viewpoint: before you lies the Ducal Palace with the Torricini, the cathedral dome and the brick rooftops, with the Montefeltro hills all around.

Come up at sunset, when the bricks glow orange. The park is a few minutes' walk from Piazza della Repubblica, going up via Raffaello or via Bramante.