The Duchy of Urbino was an independent duchy in
early modern central Italy, corresponding to the northern half of the modern region of
Marche
Marche ( , ) is one of the twenty regions of Italy. In English, the region is sometimes referred to as The Marches ( ). The region is located in the central area of the country, bordered by Emilia-Romagna and the republic of San Marino to the ...
. It was directly annexed by the
Papal States in 1625.
It was bordered by the
Adriatic Sea in the east, the
Republic of Florence in the west and the
Papal States in the south. In 1523 the capital was moved from Urbino to
Pesaro
Pesaro () is a city and ''comune'' in the Italian region of Marche, capital of the Province of Pesaro e Urbino, on the Adriatic Sea. According to the 2011 census, its population was 95,011, making it the second most populous city in the Marche, ...
. After the short rule by
Cesare Borgia
Cesare Borgia (; ca-valencia, Cèsar Borja ; es, link=no, César Borja ; 13 September 1475 – 12 March 1507) was an Italian ex- cardinal and '' condottiero'' (mercenary leader) of Aragonese (Spanish) origin, whose fight for power was a major ...
in 1502–08, the dukedom went to the
della Rovere papal family, who held it until 1625, when
Pope Urban VIII
Pope Urban VIII ( la, Urbanus VIII; it, Urbano VIII; baptised 5 April 1568 – 29 July 1644), born Maffeo Vincenzo Barberini, was head of the Catholic Church and ruler of the Papal States from 6 August 1623 to his death in July 1644. As po ...
annexed it to the
Papal States as ' (later ').
History
The birth of the duchy dates back to 1443, by virtue of the appointment of
Oddantonio da Montefeltro as Duke of Urbino by
Pope Eugene IV. The Duchy had for a long time the city of the same name as its capital, which soon became one of the focal points of the
Italian Renaissance, rivaling
Florence and
Siena as a center of art, culture, and commerce.
In 1506 the
University of Urbino was founded.
Statistics
In 1610, a contemporary estimate printed by the
Elzevirs gave the duchy's annual income as over 200,000 scudi, and the duke's fortune at St. Leo as 2,000,000 scudi. In 1624, Mercurius Gallicus estimated the revenue of the duchy at 300,000 scudi. In regards to population, Zane estimated 150,000 for the duchy at the start of the 17th century, and the military at 10,000 fighting men, half of whom were soldiers and the other half militia. Three-fourths of the duchy's military force was
available for foreign service. In 1591, the military force of the duchy amounted to 13,313 fighting men, of whom 8,300 carried arquebuses and 3,783 wore marions. A contemporary census places the duchy's population in 1598 at 115,121. The last legation census before the dissolution of the duchy gave the population as 220,000 in an area of 5,556 square kilometers (giving nearly 40 people per square kilometer), with Urbino (the urban area) having 12,000 (7,500 in the city proper, 4,500 in the adjacent district).
[James Dennistoun. "Memoirs of the Dukes of Urbino, Illustrating the Arms, Arts, and Literature of Italy, from 1440 to 1630, Volume 3." Harvard University Press: 1851. Pages 432-433.]
In 1574, few to none of the nobility had annual revenues of more than 3,000 scudi, but many burgesses made 300-400 scudi annually. The few merchants were chiefly from outside the duchy. A few years after the loss of the duchy's independence, the papacy drew 100,000 scudi annually from direct and fiscal taxation. The militia at the time number 8,000 infantry and 500 cavalry, plus the garrison of Sinigaglia.
[Dennistoun, p. 433-434.]
List of rulers of Urbino
Lords until 1213, counts thereafter until 1443, thereafter dukes.
See also
*
History of Urbino
*
Pesaro
Pesaro () is a city and ''comune'' in the Italian region of Marche, capital of the Province of Pesaro e Urbino, on the Adriatic Sea. According to the 2011 census, its population was 95,011, making it the second most populous city in the Marche, ...
*
List of historic states of Italy
Notes
References
*
Volume OneVolume TwoVolume Three''History of the popes; their church and state (Volume III)''by Leopold von Ranke (
Wellesley College
Wellesley College is a private women's liberal arts college in Wellesley, Massachusetts, United States. Founded in 1870 by Henry and Pauline Durant as a female seminary, it is a member of the original Seven Sisters Colleges, an unofficial g ...
Library, 2009)
* Franceschini, G. (1970), ''I Montefeltro ''. Milan.
* Ugolini, Filippo, (1859)
''Storia dei conti e duchi d'Urbino'' Florence.
* Ugolini, Filippo
''Storia dei conti e duchi d'Urbino - volume 2''
{{DEFAULTSORT:Urbino, Duchy of
States and territories established in 1443
Duchy of Urbino
Montefeltro
2nd millennium in Italy
1443 establishments in Europe
Italian city-states