The Ducal Palace ( it, Palazzo Ducale) is a
Renaissance
The Renaissance ( , ) , from , with the same meanings. is a period in European history marking the transition from the Middle Ages to modernity and covering the 15th and 16th centuries, characterized by an effort to revive and surpass ideas ...
building in the
Italian city of
Urbino in the
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 ...
. One of the most important monuments in Italy, it is listed as
UNESCO World Heritage Site
A World Heritage Site is a landmark or area with legal protection by an international convention administered by the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO). World Heritage Sites are designated by UNESCO for h ...
since 1998.
History
![Cortile d'onore - Palazzo ducale Urbino](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/6/6a/Cortile_d%27onore_-_Palazzo_ducale_Urbino.jpg)
The construction of the Ducal Palace was begun for Duke
Federico III da Montefeltro
Federico da Montefeltro, also known as Federico III da Montefeltro KG (7 June 1422 – 10 September 1482), was one of the most successful mercenary captains (''condottieri'') of the Italian Renaissance, and lord of Urbino from 1444 (as Duke fr ...
around the mid-fifteenth century by the Florentine Maso di Bartolomeo. The new construction included the pre-existing Palace of the Jole. The solid rock hillside salient was impregnable to siege but was problematic for carving out the foundation of a palace. Thus, a prominent fortress-builder,
Luciano Laurana
Luciano Laurana (Lutiano Dellaurana, hr, Lucijan Vranjanin) (c. 1420 – 1479) was an Italian architect and engineer from the historic Vrana settlement near the town of Zadar in Dalmatia, (today in Croatia, then part of the Republic of Venice) Af ...
, from
Dalmatia
Dalmatia (; hr, Dalmacija ; it, Dalmazia; see #Name, names in other languages) is one of the four historical region, historical regions of Croatia, alongside Croatia proper, Slavonia, and Istria. Dalmatia is a narrow belt of the east shore of ...
, was hired to build the substructure; but Laurana departed Urbino before the living quarters of the palace were begun. After Laurana, the designer or designers of the Ducal Palace are unknown with certainty. Leading
High Renaissance architect
Donato Bramante was a native of Urbino and may have worked on the completion of the palace.
The Ducal Palace is famous as the setting of the conversations which
Baldassare Castiglione represents as having taken place in the Hall of Vigils in 1507 in his ''
Book of the Courtier
''The Book of the Courtier'' ( it, Il Cortegiano ) by Baldassare Castiglione is a lengthy philosophical dialogue on the topic of what constitutes an ideal courtier or (in the third chapter) court lady, worthy to befriend and advise a Prince or pol ...
''.
The palace continued in use as a government building into the 20th century, housing municipal archives and offices, and public collections of antique inscriptions and sculpture (the Galleria Nazionale delle Marche, see
below
Below may refer to:
*Earth
*Ground (disambiguation)
*Soil
*Floor
*Bottom (disambiguation)
Bottom may refer to:
Anatomy and sex
* Bottom (BDSM), the partner in a BDSM who takes the passive, receiving, or obedient role, to that of the top or ...
). Restorations completed in 1985 have reopened the extensive subterranean network to visitors.
''Studiolo'' and twin chapels
The Ducal Palace featured several rooms that reflect Federico's devotion to Classical and humanistic studies and served his daily routine, which included visiting the palace's ''
lararium
Lares ( , ; archaic , singular ''Lar'') were guardian deities in ancient Roman religion. Their origin is uncertain; they may have been hero-ancestors, guardians of the hearth, fields, boundaries, or fruitfulness, or an amalgam of these.
Lares ...
'' and reading
Greek literature. These learned and explicitly pagan touches were atypical of a medieval palazzo.
''Studiolo''
A central element in this plan is the ''
studiolo
A cabinet (also known by other terms) was a private room in the houses and palaces of early modern Europe serving as a study or retreat, usually for a man. The cabinet would be furnished with books and works of art, and sited adjacent to his ...
'' (a small study or cabinet for contemplation), a room measuring just 3.60 x 3.35m and facing away from the city of Urbino and towards the Duke's rural lands. Its beautifully executed
intarsia work, surrounding the room's occupant with ''
trompe-l'œil'' shelves, benches, and half-open
latticework
__NOTOC__
Latticework is an openwork framework consisting of a criss-crossed pattern of strips of building material, typically wood or metal. The design is created by crossing the strips to form a grid or weave.
Latticework may be functional &nda ...
doors displaying symbolic objects representing the
Liberal Arts
Liberal arts education (from Latin "free" and "art or principled practice") is the traditional academic course in Western higher education. ''Liberal arts'' takes the term ''art'' in the sense of a learned skill rather than specifically the ...
, is the single most famous example of this Italian craft of inlay. The benches hold musical instruments, and the shelves contain representations of books and musical scores, scientific instruments (including an
astrolabe
An astrolabe ( grc, ἀστρολάβος ; ar, ٱلأَسْطُرلاب ; persian, ستارهیاب ) is an ancient astronomical instrument that was a handheld model of the universe. Its various functions also make it an elaborate inclin ...
and an
armillary sphere
An armillary sphere (variations are known as spherical astrolabe, armilla, or armil) is a model of objects in the sky (on the celestial sphere), consisting of a spherical framework of rings, centered on Earth or the Sun, that represent lines of ...
), study furnishings (including a writing desk and an hourglass), weapons and armor, and various other objects (e.g. parrots in cages and a ''
mazzocchio
A chaperon ( or ; Middle French: ''chaperon'') was a form of hood or, later, highly versatile hat worn in all parts of Western Europe in the Middle Ages. Initially a utilitarian garment, it first grew a long partly decorative tail behind called ...
'').
Image:Urbino_studiolo_1.jpg, Intarsia paneling of the ''studiolo''
Image:Urbino_studiolo_2.jpg, Astronomical instruments and ''mazzocchio''
Image:Urbino_studiolo_3.jpg, A mechanical clock
The ''studiolo'' also features iconic representations of several persons, both contemporary and historical. On the intarsia panels are depicted statues of Federico in scholarly attire and of
Faith, Hope, and Charity. Above the intarsia panels are portraits of great authors by
Joos van Wassenhove (with reworking by
Pedro Berruguete):
The upper register (shown in the diagram's outside rows and columns) presents Classical and humanistic writers, as opposed to the religious figures (broadly speaking) of the lower register (inside).
Chapel of Absolution and Temple of the Muses
Downstairs from the ''studiolo'' are a twinned pair of chapels, one Christian and one pagan. The
vestibule
Vestibule or Vestibulum can have the following meanings, each primarily based upon a common origin, from early 17th century French, derived from Latin ''vestibulum, -i n.'' "entrance court".
Anatomy
In general, vestibule is a small space or cavity ...
leading to them emphasizes their complementarity with this inscribed
elegiac couplet:
The Temple of the Muses, which may have been used as the personal ''studiolo'' of Federico's son
Guidobaldo, originally featured paintings of the Muses as "sober musicians" that are perhaps the work of
Giovanni Santi
Giovanni Santi (c. 1435 – 1 August 1494) was an Italian people, Italian Painting, painter, Italian Renaissance interior design, decorator, and the father of Raphael. He was born in 1435 at Colbordolo in the Duchy of Urbino. He studied under Pie ...
.
[Godwin, p. 91.]
Galleria Nazionale delle Marche
The Galleria Nazionale delle Marche (National Gallery of the Marche), housed in the palace, is one of the most important collections of
Renaissance
The Renaissance ( , ) , from , with the same meanings. is a period in European history marking the transition from the Middle Ages to modernity and covering the 15th and 16th centuries, characterized by an effort to revive and surpass ideas ...
art in the world. It includes important works by artists such as
Raphael
Raffaello Sanzio da Urbino, better known as Raphael (; or ; March 28 or April 6, 1483April 6, 1520), was an Italian painter and architect of the High Renaissance. List of works by Raphael, His work is admired for its clarity of form, ease of ...
,
Van Wassenhove (a ''Last Supper'' with portraits of the Montefeltro family and the court),
Melozzo da Forlì
Melozzo da Forlì (c. 1438 – 8 November 1494) was an Italian Renaissance painter and architect. His fresco paintings are notable for the use of foreshortening. He was the most important member of the Forlì painting school.
Biography
M ...
,
Piero della Francesca
Piero della Francesca (, also , ; – 12 October 1492), originally named Piero di Benedetto, was an Italian painter of the Early Renaissance. To contemporaries he was also known as a mathematician and geometer. Nowadays Piero della Francesca i ...
(with the famous ''
Flagellation''),
Paolo Uccello
Paolo Uccello ( , ; 1397 – 10 December 1475), born Paolo di Dono, was an Italians, Italian (Florentine) Florentine painting, painter and mathematician who was notable for his pioneering work on visual Perspective (graphical), perspective in art. ...
,
Timoteo Viti
Timoteo Viti (Urbino, 1469 – 1523, Urbino), sometimes called Timoteo della Viti or Timoteo da Urbino, was an Italian people, Italian Renaissance Painting, painter, who was closely associated with Raphael, who was fourteen years his junior.
Care ...
, and other 15th century artists, as well as a late ''Resurrection'' by
Titian
Tiziano Vecelli or Vecellio (; 27 August 1576), known in English as Titian ( ), was an Italians, Italian (Republic of Venice, Venetian) painter of the Renaissance, considered the most important member of the 16th-century Venetian school (art), ...
.
Selected highlights
Image:Formerly Piero della Francesca - Ideal City - WGA17633 - Galleria Nazionale delle Marche Urbino.jpg, Attributed to Piero della Francesca
Ideal City, 60 x 200 cm
Image:Raffael 043.jpg, Raphael
La Muta, 64 x 48 cm
Image:Piero_della_Francesca_042_Flagellation.jpg, Piero della Francesca
Flagellation, 59 x 82 cm.
Image:Madonna di Senigallia.jpg, Piero della Francesca
Madonna di Senigallia
The ''Madonna di Senigallia'' is a painting by the Italian Renaissance master Piero della Francesca, finished around 1474. It is housed in the Galleria Nazionale delle Marche, in the Ducal Palace of Urbino.
History
From its small scale the paint ...
, 61 x 53 cm.
Image:Titian - The Resurrection.jpg, Titian
Resurrection, 163 x 104 cm
Image:Giusto di gand, comunione degli apostoli, 1473-1474.jpg, Joos van Wassenhove
Institution of Eucharist, 331 x 335 cm.
Image:Titian LastSupper c1544 Urbino.jpg, Titian
Tiziano Vecelli or Vecellio (; 27 August 1576), known in English as Titian ( ), was an Italians, Italian (Republic of Venice, Venetian) painter of the Renaissance, considered the most important member of the 16th-century Venetian school (art), ...
Last Supper, 163 x 104 cm.
Image:Orazio gentileschi, Vision of St Francesca Romana.jpg, Orazio Gentileschi
Orazio Lomi Gentileschi (1563–1639) was an Italian painter. Born in Tuscany, he began his career in Rome, painting in a Mannerist style, much of his work consisting of painting the figures within the decorative schemes of other artists. After ...
Vision of St. Francesca Romana
Image:Paolo Uccello - Miracle of the Desecrated Host (Scene 2) - WGA23223.jpg, Paolo Uccello
Miracle of the Desecrated Host (Scene 2), 43 x 58 cm
Image:Luca signorelli, crocifissione, urbino, gnm.jpg, Luca Signorelli
Crucifixion, 144 x 89 cm.
Image:Paolo Uccello - Miracle of the Desecrated Host (Scene 4) - WGA23225.jpg, Paolo Uccello
Paolo Uccello ( , ; 1397 – 10 December 1475), born Paolo di Dono, was an Italians, Italian (Florentine) Florentine painting, painter and mathematician who was notable for his pioneering work on visual Perspective (graphical), perspective in art. ...
Miracle of the Desecrated Host (Scene 4), 43 x 58 cm
Image:Paolo Monti - Servizio fotografico - BEIC 6359445.jpg, Federico Barocci
Virgin and Child with Saints, 283 x 190 cm.
Image:Paolo Uccello - Miracle of the Desecrated Host (Scene 6) - WGA23227.jpg, Paolo Uccello
Miracle of the Desecrated Host (Scene 6), 43 x 58 cm
References
Sources
* Luciano Cheles,
The Studiolo of Urbino: An Iconographic Investigation' (Penn State Press, 1986)
* Robert Kirkbride,
' (Columbia University Press, 2008)
External links
Galleria Nazionale delle Marche - Official website
{{Authority control
Ducale, Urbino
Urbino
Renaissance architecture in le Marche
15th-century establishments in Italy
Art museums and galleries in Marche
Museums in Urbino
National museums of Italy
Ducal Palace, Urbino
Duchy of Urbino