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Urbino's origins have been lost in
the mists of time. Around 1375 Anthony of Montefeltro, one of
the most outstanding warriors and politicians of the late 14th
century, shrewdly entered the game of Italian politics of his
day, allying himself with Florence and Milan, and therefore
Gian Galeazzo Visconti. His prestige thus increased, Pope
Boniface VIII absolved him from censures and recognised all
his territories in 1390. This situation augured well for the
city, which was able to arise from the morass of internecine
strife. Soon there was a reawakening of the arts and
architecture, the first step towards that unstoppable rise
which would lead to the success of his nephew, Frederick II.
He it was who ordered the building of the ducal palace, which
now houses the University, and the making of contacts
with the world of culture, which would lead to the production
of significant works of art.
After Frederick came Guy Anthony, who in turn maintained a
shrewd policy of equilibrium. In 1416, during Guy Anthony's
reign, brothers Lorenzo and Jacopo Sanseverino painted the
frescoes at the Oratory of St John the Baptist, brining
the late Gothic to Urbino.
After his death in1443, the lordship was offered to
sixteen-year-old Oddantonio who was assassinated for his
financial ineptitude and profligacy along with two of his
ministers on 21 July 1444.
The Urbanese then offered the lordship to Federico III
(1444-82), the illegitimate son of Guy Anthony and the most
prominent ruler of Urbino, a pupil of Vittorino da Feltre's
school and a lover of art. With the death of his half-brother
Oddantonio, he ruled alone.
Under him Urbino became the resort of the brightest minds of
the Renaissance. It was he who commissioned Luciano Laurana to
build his residence that was later described by Castiglioni as
“a city-shaped palace “. This edifice, he also said, was
the first example of an architectural and urban design project
with close ties to nature.
Federico da Montefeltro was to receive significant
acknowledgment in the years to follow: His Holiness called him
to Rome to award him the Order of St Peter (a short time
later, his daughter married the Pope’s nephew, Giovanni
della Rovere). Edward IV of England made him a knight of the
garter, and the King of Naples, a knight of the Ermine Order.
Death took him by surprise in 1482, when his son Guidubaldo I
was still a child.
Wisely tutored by his uncle, Octavian Ubaldini, he retained
all his father's powers. Pope Leo X deprived him of his
territory, which was given to Lorenzo de' Medici, and later to
Giovanni Maria Varano. The following year he regained
definitive ownership of the Duchy, and several years of calm
for the city and court followed. The time was right for the
artistic genius of Raphael to flourish. His father,
Giovanni Santi, had died on 1 August 1494. The orphan, placed
under the guardianship of his maternal uncle, entered the
studio of a charming painter, Timothy Viti, a pupil of
Francia. Upon recommendation of the Duchess, Giovanna Feltria
Della Rovere, he was to seek work in Florence and Rome, where
he would reach his zenith.
Meanwhile, back at court, the main problem of the day was the
lack of rightful heirs, so on the death of Guidubaldo (1508)
the Duchy passed into the hands of Francis Mary I of the Della
Rovere dynasty. Although they could never equal the splendours
of the Montefeltros, the Della Roveres still surrounded
themselves with musicians, writers, artists, and glitterati.
Many works, however, were commissioned from Titian, not to
mention the others ordered from Urbino painter Federico
Barocci, all of which shed a glorious light on the last years
of Della Rovere rule.
In 1523, the court decided to transfer the capital of the
Duchy to Pesaro, after which the town of Urbino began its slow
decline.
The lowest point in Urbino's history came with Napoleonic
occupation, and the suppression of churches, convents, and
monasteries, with the consequent theft and expropriation of
great works of art (either sent to France – paintings and
sculptures – or melted down for use as weapons – bronzes).
Some were even sent to Milan, such as Piero della Francesco's
well-known Madonna col Bambino e Santi, now in the Brera
Gallery.
Source: http://www.sitiunesco.it/index.phtml?id=689 |
