Discover the best things to do in Urbino, Italy’s Renaissance gem, where art, history, and fantastic food await – without the usual crowds.
With its glittering coastline, rolling hills, and artistic treasures, Le Marche is often described as “Tuscany without the crowds.”
However, as travel writer Chris Allsop discovered on a recent trip, this comparison doesn’t quite do the region justice.
More rustic and less populated than its famous neighbour, Le Marche has its own distinct charm — especially in the northern city of Urbino.
A UNESCO-listed Renaissance gem, Urbino boasts breathtaking art, rich history, and fantastic food, all without the throngs of tourists found in Florence or Siena.
From exploring its grand palaces to indulging in local cuisine, here are the 10 best things to do in Urbino:
1. Tour the historical centre
Urbino is an impressive sight. The medieval centre, arrayed across a pair of hills, is still entirely enclosed within its city walls.
Out of it rises the composed turrets of the Ducal Palace – the former seat of Federico da Montefeltro, who hauled Urbino up into medieval significance.
Within its walls, the entirely brick-paved streets run helter-skelter, gutters scored down their middles.
Blue-grey shutters adorn the buildings, and bars set out tables with their legs cut to allow level drinking on steep streets.
A walk along the walls at night, with the views into the surrounding countryside, is incredibly atmospheric.
Along the way, you’ll encounter the monument to Raphael, his likeness elevated on a marble plinth in Piazza Roma.
Head into the centre’s heart to seek out an aperitivo in Piazza della Repubblica, which, with the city’s student population, is never dull.
2. Explore the medieval quarter
It feels like all of Urbino is the ‘medieval quarter’, but a particular knot of alleyways is officially labelled as such. It’s a fabulous warren to explore, with its intact medieval architecture and subsequent tiny rooms.
One of the city’s great artistic treasures also has lodgings here, within the unassuming entrance to the Oratorio di San Giovanni Battista. Inside this intimate place of worship, your attention is captured by the floor-to-ceiling Gothic frescoes telling the story of St John the Baptist.
Painted between 1416 and 1418, this wall of Gothic symbolism and Renaissance perspective was the work of the Salimbeni brothers.
The attention to detail is almost as astonishing as the mural’s glowing colour, the result of a recent clean rather than any restorative work.
3. Seek out art by Raphael
It was a shame that the Duke of Montefeltro – who invited artists to his city to increase his cultural capital – died in 1483, before the birth of the artist Raphael.
Whereas in Florence you have a sea of talent vying to be recognised, in Urbino it’s all about Raffaello Sanzio da Urbino.
Raphael’s work is scattered throughout the country’s galleries, but you’ll find some within Urbino’s Ducal Palace, including his Mona Lisa-esque La Muta.
Find your way to Via Raffaelo to see his birthplace, now the Casa Natale di Raffaelo museum, where you’ll find plenty to marvel at.
Among the things to see are the courtyard where the young artist may have ground colours for his father’s art, paintings by Raphael’s father, and a fresco that may have been completed by an eight-year-old Raphael.
4. Walk through the stunning Ducal Palace
The immense structure of the 15th-century Ducal Palace dominates Urbino and was formerly the seat of the Duke of Montefeltro.
One of Italy’s finest examples of Renaissance architecture, today its 60 rooms serve as the National Gallery of Le Marche, including works by Piero della Francesca and Raphael.
Walk the six rooms of the Ducal Apartment where the centrepiece is the intarsia-panelled studiolo by Baccio Pontelli with the gold-painted ceiling, trompe l’oeil detailing, and 28 astonishing portraits above.
5. Find more things to do in Urbino’s highest point
At the summit of the medieval quarter, you’ll find Parco della Resistenza, not far from the Casa Natale di Raffaelo museum or the Oratory of San Giovanni Battista.
This green space, filled in the warmer months with students pretending to study, offers sweeping views across Urbino, the Ducal Palace, and the elegant rumple of the surrounding countryside.
The park, dedicated to the Italian Resistance in the Second World War, also doubles as an outdoor sculpture exhibit featuring artists from the city’s impressive university.
There’s also a 14th-century fortress called Fortezza Albornoz, built by the Pope to keep an eye on the ambitious inhabitants of Urbino.
It was joined to the city walls in the following century before eventually becoming a museum piece.
In the summer, concerts and fairs also take place within the park. The highest point on this side of Urbino, it’s also the go-to spot for the city’s kite enthusiasts.
6. Relax in an organic winery
In the countryside near Urbino, Tenuta Santi Giacomo e Filippo is a winery-cum luxury hotel and spa set in a renovated 16th-century farming village.
Arrive at the right time of day and you’ll see a robot lawnmower trimming the grass in front of the antique 13th-century church. This sets the tone for the resort’s philosophy, which, since opening in 2011 within a nature reserve, has established 14 hectares of vines on organically tended soil.
As a whole, you’ll find Le Marche has a strong organic outlook when it comes to food and wine production, both here and in the south amid the organic wineries (gathered under the umbrella group of Terroir Marche) near Ascoli Piceno.
Beyond delicious Verdicchio and less well-known varieties of wine they’re producing here, there’s also a fine dining restaurant by a lake, a spa in what used to be the old hay loft, and land art by Gianino Calcagnini.
7. Discover Furlo Gorge
A towering spectacle of natural beauty, the natural splendour of nearby Furlo Gorge has majestic cliff formations, stunning views and an assortment of rare flora and fauna.
Sheer limestone cliffs rise on either side of the green waters of the Candigliano River, and your drive will take you along the old Roman Via Flaminia, twisting and turning as it snakes through the gorge.
The Flaminian Way was built in 220 BC by the Roman Consul Gaius Flaminius to give safe passage to Rome’s armies to the northern reaches of the Empire – an impressive feat of engineering that included enormous buttresses and a hand-hewn tunnel.
In 76 AD, Emperor Vespasian commanded another tunnel to be dug (still in use today), and ancient chisel marks can be seen from close up.
The vertiginous scenery makes this the perfect spot for hikers, bikers and climbers, while the tiny village of Furlo sits at the start of the Furlo Pass and is an excellent place to sample local truffles when in season.
8. Witness San Leo’s incredible history
Overlooking the Marecchia Valley just over an hour’s drive northwest of Urbino stands the imposing town of San Leo, installed on a strategically tricky limestone perch and built (on Roman foundations) to contain the enemies of the Pope.
Called the most beautiful castle in Italy, it started life as a prison in the 8th century and continued in this employ until 1906.
Its most famous prisoner was probably Giuseppe Balsamo (aka Count Cagliostro – an 18th-century occultist who infiltrated the royal courts of Europe before being denounced as “the quack of quacks” and flung into the San Leo clink.
Today, the fortress contains a museum and an art gallery.
9. Visit the Conero Peninsula
Pesaro seems the more obvious seaside destination in the Province of Pesaro and Urbino. However, if you have a little more time, it’s worth heading half an hour further south to the pristine Conero Peninsula.
This national park, set on a limestone butte, is an oddity along the flat and sandy Marche coastline.
Whilst much of the coast in this region is well mined by tourism, Conero’s protected status and gorgeous-if-difficult-to-reach beaches feel like a world apart (except, of course, in August).
Its chief resort town is Sirolo, an 11th-century fortress turned immaculately kept village with far-reaching views.
Paths wind through the pines to the crystal-clear, blue flag water and white pebble beaches (Two Sisters Beach, only accessible by water, is the pick of the bunch).
Make your way to Portonovo for Ristorante Ghiachetta and grilled sardines with a crisp glass of Verdicchio while the waves crash mere metres away.
10. Venture further from Urbino for even more things to do
If you’re making Urbino your base, take a day out to Urbania, southwest of the city and one of Italy’s 33 officially recognised DOC ceramics centres.
It has its own Ducal Palace, originally the family home of Federico’s wife, Gentile Brancaleoni. See also the spooky Mummy Cemetery in the Chiesa dei Morti.
Saint Christopher, Urbania’s patron, is celebrated on July 25th and the following Sunday with a car blessing tradition and a costumed horseback palio.
Northwest of Urbino is Sassocorvaro, a fabulous location overlooking the lake at Mercatale.
This beautiful village is popular with watersports enthusiasts during the summer, and close to the Colle Igea forest – great for walking and picnics.
St Valentine is buried in the village, but the main attraction is the turtle-shaped fortress, Rocca Ubaldinesca, built in 1475.
Want to broaden your tour? Check out the best things to do in Le Marche
Words by Chris Allsop