A WALK THROUGH TIME -THE MARCHE OF THE DUKE OF MONTEFELTRO

Arrive in Urbino, birthplace of Raphael and Unesco heritage. Visit the historic center of the ducal city with the birth house of Raphael, the Piazza del Mercantale, Piazza della Repubblica, the Duomo and finally the Palazzo Ducale that houses the works of the National Gallery of Marche. Hotel accommodation, dinner and overnight.

Breakfast at the hotel, transfer to Urbania, known until 1636 with the name of
Casteldurante. Visit to the Palazzo Ducale seat of the Civic Museum, the Library and the Pinacoteca which preserves the famous globes of the Flemish cartographer Gerardo Mercatore. Visit to the Crypt of the Church of the Dead, decorated with a wonderful Gothic portal, which houses inside the particular cemetery of the Mummies where there are several mummified characters, each with its own history. Free lunch. Continuation to the small medieval village of Frontino, one of the most beautiful villages in Italy. The Castle of Frontino, (perhaps dating back to 1100) was object of several battles, until it got to the domain of Montefeltro. Interesting is the Church of Saints Peter and Paul with an important painting by Federico Barocci, and the Civic Tower. Transfer to Macerata Feltria, a village with two souls, a medieval fortified high, and an eighteenth-century low, not surprisingly is one of the “Most beautiful villages in Italy”. Worthy of note is the 18th century Palazzo Antimi Clari, the Parish Church of St. Michael the Archangel, the Church of Saint Francis, with a Gothic portal and frescoes from the fifteenth century and what remains of its ancient convent, currently home to the Museum of the “Radio d’epoca”, the Palazzo del Podestà where the Civic Archaeological and Paleontological Museum is located. Return to the hotel, dinner and overnight.

Breakfast at the hotel, transfer to Sassocorvaro, a medieval village that offers
wonderful views of Lake Mercatale. Visit of the Rocca Ubaldinesca, a “turtle of stones and bricks” designed by one of the greatest military architects of the Renaissance, Francesco di Giorgio
Martini for the half-brother of Duke Ottaviano Ubaldini. Inside is housed the Museum of the Rocca Ubaldinesca, whose art collections include paintings, sculptures and furniture ranging from the fourteenth to the nineteenth century. End of services.