The guided tour of Urbino is a journey through time that will take you back to the Renaissance period along the streets of a village rich in history, artisan shops and beautiful buildings on several levels. It starts from the birthplace of Urbino's most illustrious artist, Raffaello Sanzio, one of the symbolic painters and architects of the Renaissance, whose works are famous all over the world. We will tell you the storey of him, the first paintings in his father's workshop up to the most prestigious works along one of the high streets that bears his name.
From here we move to visit the Cathedral of Saint Maria Assunta, the most important church in the town and in the heart of the historic centre, rebuilt several times over time with a beautiful neoclassical facade; inside, you can admire precious paintings, elegant neoclassical decorations, finely crafted marble altars, and important sacred artworks that testify to the cathedral’s rich historical and artistic heritage.
Nearby we can admire from the outside the symbolic building of the town and one of the most important artistic and architectural examples of the Renaissance, the Ducal Palace, a small fortified town built by Federico da Montefeltro who wanted to transform Urbino into the ideal town, calling the most brilliant artists to court of his time. Today it houses the National Gallery of the Marche containing precious paintings by Raphael, Titian and Piero della Francesca. The imposing building deserves to be seen on various sides on two different levels, being Urbino a vertical town, and for this reason we continue the tour along the characteristic helical ramps, with a break for some photographs at the beautiful Egyptian obelisk donated in 1737 by Cardinal Albani.
The ramps are located inside a bastion next to the suggestive Torricini of the Ducal Palace and were built by the Duke to reach the palace comfortably on horseback; today they are considered an ingenious architectural work and a good viewpoit to admire all the splendour of the Palace. Adjacent to the ramps we find the Raffaello Sanzio Theatre inaugurated in the mid-1800s and still used for various types of shows. The guided tour ends with other evocative views of the village and at Porta Valbena, one of the main access routes to the historic centre, set in the walls to protect the village.
