One Day in Urbino, Italy: A Renaissance Gem
Are you looking for an Italian Renaissance town with the history of Florence but a fraction of the visitors? Urbino is it. This UNESCO World Heritage hill town in Le Marche was the cultural capital of the Italian Renaissance, after spending a day here, I can see why.
Urbino gave the Renaissance some of its biggest names. Piero della Francesca worked here. Raphael was born here. The architects Bramante and Martini trained here.
All of it traces back to one man: Duke Federico da Montefeltro, who turned his court into a magnet for the era’s greatest talent.
I visited on a shore excursion from an Adriatic cruise, and one day in Urbino was enough time to walk in the footsteps of these Renaissance giants.
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Getting to Urbino
Urbino isn’t the easiest town to reach, which is exactly why it stays quiet.
There’s no airport. The nearest airports are Ancona and Rimini, or Bologna for a wider choice of flights, all connected by the Adriatic coastal railway.
By train, the closest station is Pesaro, 37km away, on the line linking Bologna, Rimini and Ancona. From Pesaro, catch a bus up to Urbino, which takes between 60 and 80 minutes.
From the Urbino bus station, two lifts (elevators) will whisk you to Porta Santa Lucia, a short but steep walk to the city centre.
Driving gives you the most flexibility, but Urbino’s historic centre is a restricted traffic zone (ZTL). Park at Piazza Mercatale, the main entry square, then walk up to Piazza della Repubblica or take the lift to Corso Garibaldi if you’d rather skip the climb.
Once there, the historic centre is compact and easy to cover on foot.
A Short History of Urbino, Italy
Urbino’s golden age was in the 15th century when the powerful Duke Federico da Montefeltro (1444-82) established his court there. A military leader and patron of the arts, he drew the finest artists, architects and scholars of the day to a town that became one of Europe’s great cultural centres.
He is instantly recognisable in portraits: always painted in profile, after a jousting accident cost him his right eye and part of his nose. Piero della Francesca’s famous diptych of Federico and his wife is one of the must-see paintings in Florence’s Uffizi Galleries
By the end of the 16th century, Urbino had faded into provincial anonymity, cut off from Italy’s other cultural hubs by the Apennines. That isolation turned out to be a stroke of luck. While its rivals modernised, Urbino stayed largely untouched, and it’s now one of the best-preserved Renaissance towns in Italy.
One Day in Urbino: What to See
Here’s the itinerary I’d recommend if you have a single day:
- Ducal Palace (Palazzo Ducale)
- Raphael’s Birthplace (Casa Natale di Raffaello)
- Urbino Cathedral (Duomo) and Museo Diocesano Albani
- Oratory of St. John (Oratorio di San Giovanni Battista)
- Oratory of St. Joseph (Oratorio di San Giuseppe)
- Botanic Garden of Urbino (Orto botanico di Urbino)
The Ducal Palace, Urbino (Palazzo Ducale)
My day started in the courtyard of the 15th-century Ducal Palace, one of the largest in Italy and Urbino’s main attraction. Our guide Luigi called it:
… the most beautiful example of what the Renaissance means
The courtyard is all balance and harmony, an almost square space ringed by Corinthian columns and a running strip of Latin script. In the 15th century, around 10% of Urbino’s population lived within these walls, nobility upstairs and servants below.
Federico made his mark throughout the Ducal Palace. Literally. His initials are carved throughout the palace, on walls, ceilings and fireplaces: FE DUX.
Most rooms are plain, but the fireplaces and doorways hint at the palace’s former splendour. The standout is Federico’s private study, a small room with inlaid wood panelling so detailed that photographs don’t do it justice.
Practical information
Opening hours: The Ducal Palace, including the Galleria Nazionale delle Marche, is open daily from 8.30 am to 7.15 pm from Tuesday to Sunday. During the summer months, it is open on Mondays from 3 pm to 7 pm, and there are extended evening openings on selected dates
Entrance fee: Visiting the Ducal Palace costs €10; combined ticket with the Castle of Gradara €13 (2026 prices)
You can buy tickets for the Palazzo Ducale online. However, this is not likely to be necessary.
Renaissance Art Inside the Palace
The palace holds one of the region’s best collections of Renaissance art, much of it moved here from local churches.
Piero della Francesca’s Flagellation is a classic study in perspective. Luigi pointed out the vanishing point using the shadow of his own hand, showing how figures in the foreground loom larger than those behind.
Oddly, the flagellation itself is in the background. The real focus is an unidentified group of men in the foreground, widely thought to reference the fall of Constantinople in 1453.
Variously attributed to Piero della Francesca, Luciano Maurana and Francesco do Giorgio Martini, The Ideal City depicts a 15th-century city landscape almost devoid of human activity. With its open doors and windows, this city appears suspended in time, waiting for something to happen.
Raphaelis Urbino’s favourite son, and his Portrait of a Young Woman, known as La Muta or the Silent Lady, hangs in the Galleria Nazionale delle Marche within the palace. Luigi’s reading of her expression stuck with me:
She is sad, or is not willing to share her emotions. Maybe grief, or she is a widow more than a silent lady.
We’ll never know for certain.
She is sad or is not willing to share her emotions and steps inside herself. Maybe grief or she is in pain. Maybe she is a widow more than a silent lady.
Today, we can only speculate.
Casa Natale di Raffaello
A short walk from the palace is Raphael’s birthplace, Casa Natale di Raffaello. It’s now a small museum, and while none of his paintings hang here, there’s a ceiling fresco he may have painted as a young man.
Raphael’s father was court painter to Federico, who died the year before Raphael was born. Orphaned by the age of eleven, Raphael was raised by uncles before leaving Urbino at seventeen to work in Perugia, Siena, Florence and Rome.
Opening hours: Seasonal, so check ahead.
Entrance fee: A modest charge applies.
Other Things to Do in Urbino, Italy
- Urbino Cathedral (Duomo) – A cathedral has stood here since 1062, rebuilt after earthquake damage in 1769. The uninspiring neo-classical exterior hides religious paintings by Federico Barocci and Claudio Ridolfi. Book tickets here.
- Museo Diocesano Albani – Next to the Duomo, with frescoes, religious artefacts, glass and ceramics from the cathedral’s collection.
- Oratorio di San Giovanni Battista – Near the main gate, home to colourful early 15th-century frescoes by brothers Lorenzo and Giacomo Salimbeni.
- Oratorio di San Giuseppe – On the same street, known for a stucco nativity scene by 16th-century Urbino sculptor Federico Brandani.
- Botanic Garden of Urbino – Founded in 1809 across three terraces on the hillside, open May to October.
Where to Stay in Urbino
I didn’t stay overnight, but these central options come well recommended by other travellers:
B&B Villa Paradiso – This bed & breakfast, less than a ten-minute walk from the centre of Urbino, has garnered fantastic reviews.
Residenza Ambrogi B&B – Located just outside Urbino’s walls, a ten-minute walk from the Ducal Palace, this choice is praised for the hospitality of its owners and for its breakfasts.
B&B Albornoz – Located in the centre of Urbino, close to Casa Natale di Rafaello, this bed & breakfast has also attracted great reviews.
Why Urbino is Worth Visiting
Florence and Siena get the crowds. Urbino gets the same Renaissance history without the queues or the elbow room problem. Prices are lower, the pace is slower, and the town has a friendly, unhurried feel that’s increasingly hard to find in Italy’s better-known art cities.
Go now, before more people work this out.
By Bridget
Bridget Coleman is an award-winning travel blogger who is an incurable Italy addict and has travelled its length & breadth on multiple occasions. Find out more here.
To get in touch, email her at hello@flashpackingitaly.com