Points of Interest
Acqualagna
Acqualagna - a town of 4,000 inhabitants near Gola del Furlo, in the province of Pesaro-Urbino - is characterized by a centuries-old tradition of search, production, and commercialization of the truffle. It is nowadays the seat of harvesters and traders working on the worldwide market. The truffle market of Acqualagna is considered as the privileged seat of the wholesale trade: here, about the 2/3 of the whole national production (about 5-600 quintals of all varieties of truffle) are produced. The countries where there is more demand are Germany (the most important European consumer), Belgium, Holland, France (which produces great quantities of black truffle in the Midi), USA, and Canada.
When you visit Acqualagna to taste the truffle, you will be surrounded by a wonderful scenery: Furlo, the territory of Comunità Montana del Catria e Nerone, Urbino, the nearby seaside. The beauty of the environment surrounding the town and the fragrance of the truffle transform Acqualagna in a very special place.
Fossombrone
If you go along the Metauro valley from Fano towards the hinterland,
Fossombrone will suddenly appear to you lying between the plain and the
hills in the point where the valley gets narrow, closed between the
forgers of the Cesane and the steep slope of the hill of the
Cappuccini. If you look at it from a distance, the town seems
characterized by a thick sloping down of roofs from which the bell
towers of the main churches, the façade of some noble palace, and the
large wing of the Corte Alta dei Montefeltro with its aerial open
gallery emerge. At the top of the hill of S.Aldebrando, there are the
remains of the fortress of the Malatesta and Montefeltro families.
If you have a closer look, it is easy to find in the urban texture the
three main development stages of the town, the result of a deep
relationship between historical events and geographical features. On
the high hill, under the fortress, there is the germ of the present
town, "la Cittadella" which formed in the period of the Barbarian
incursions and in the Middle Ages, when the elevated position was a
synonym and a guarantee of safety. When the defence needs diminished,
the settlement began to extend and reached the foot of the hill; the
buildings were placed on roads which ran parallel to the Flaminia, and
were enriched with elegant façades and porticos. It is the Fossombrone
of the Malatesta and Montefeltro families, characterized by a lively
cultural and economic life: the wool processing, the paper mills, and
the stamped leather workings together with the flourishing agriculture
transformed the town in the richest and most dynamic center of the
middle basin of the Metauro. Because of the flourishing economy and the
consequent demographical increase, Fossombrone gradually extended from
the 17th century in the South of the Flaminia, and it covered the whole
plain near the river, according to a project by Capocaccia and the will
of the last Duke of Urbino. Fossombrone remained within the 17th
century walls up to the recent building expansion towards the East
along the Flaminia, attracted by the area of S. Martino del Piano,
where in the 2nd century B.C. its history began with the name of Forum Sempronii and where the rests of the ancient Roman town are gradually being discovered.
Museums and Libraries
Urbino
Palazzo Ducale
Palazzo Ducale, one of the most eminent works of art of the Renaissance, represents the real treasure of Urbino and houses the National Picture Gallery of the Marches. The building has
been conceived by Luciano Laurana, who christened with his name the two
sharp Towers: with their sixty meters of height, they are an original
invention and represent the visual symbol of the town. Other architects
took part in the building of the structure and left a trace of their
passage: they are Francesco di Giorgio Martini and Girolamo Genga.
The most ancient part of the palace is the long side adorned with
mullioned windows, in front of the Gothic Church of S.Domenico. After
admiring the compactness of the exterior, with wonderful windows and
portals, we enter into the charming and harmonious ceremonial courtyard
where it is necessary to stop and admire the proportions of the sides,
the drawing of arches and columns, the chromatic game of the materials
used, from the red of the brick to the clear color of the travertine
marble, the praise in Latin dedicated to the great Federico on the
double frieze surrounding the whole courtyard and giving the idea of
harmony and balance which is typical of the early Renaissance. Palazzo
Ducale can be visited by following an ideal itinerary around the image
of Federico II of Montefeltro. Through what has been considered the
first monumental staircase of the Italian civil architecture, you have
access to the noble floors housing nowadays the National Picture
Gallery of the Marches.
Architecture, works of art, charming places. Short itineraries throughout four centuries of history
On the left of the palace the imposing building of the Cathedral rises:
it was ruined by the 1781 earthquake and rebuilt by Valadier with
neoclassical forms. The most important external elements are
represented by the imposing façade, a solemn entrance, and the high
dome. Inside, the structure has a nave and two aisles and the ceiling
is decorated with barrel vaults: you can find valuable paintings like
the Martyrdom of San Sebastiano and the Establishment of Eucharist by
Federico Barocci. Next to it there is Museo Albani, where works of art,
paintings, majolicas, and the treasure of the Cathedral are preserved.
The Roman Theater, Santo Chiara Monastery, Santo Croce Oratory, Bonaventura Palace
Through the nearby alley, from where you can see on the left the 1943
excavations which brought back to light the rests of the Roman Theater
built in the first half of the 1st century A.D., you get to Piazza
Gherardi, where you can admire the Church's apse. By following via
Santa Chiara, you get to the former monastery of Santa Chiara (which is
currently the seat of the "Scuola di Progettazione Grafica ISIA"), with
a courtyard enriched by an arcade and balconies by Francesco di Giorgio
Martini: from here, you can enjoy a charming view over the Mausoleum of
the Dukes. Opposite the former monastery, the Oratory of Santa Croce
with the beautiful Gothic portal and, inside, the paintings by
Ottaviano Nelli, Giovanni Santi (Raffaello's father) and by Picchi. In
Via Saffi we find the Bonaventura Palace, where the Montefeltro family
lived, as it is witnessed by the coat of arms above the portal
reminding Gothic lines and currently the seat of the University
established in 1506.
