The beautiful province

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The beautiful province

• PESARO and URBINO

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Coat of arms of the province of Pesaro and Urbino
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Pesaro-Urbino, the beautiful province

• Pesaro and Urbino is the northernmost
  province in the Marche region, situated between
  the Adriatic sea and the Apennine mountains in
  direct contact with Romagna, Tuscany and Umbria,
  it is the ideal base from where to visit and
  explore the territories of central Italy. One of
  the striking aspects of the area is the amazing
  variety of colours displayed by the changing
  seasons, a tuneful composition that emanates from
  the green of the wooded hills to the blue of the
  sea. As does the long coastline with its beaches
  nestling against a backcloth of hills surmounted
  by ancient hilltowns and castles. History and
  nature blend to become one and the same. Urbino
  still preserves the atmosphere of the ideal
  Italian renaissance town set in the territory of
  Montefeltro, an area rich in castles and ruins
  standing on impervious crags, sanctuaries and
  churches rising out of open fields or nestling on
  the edges of woods, stately homes and solemn
  ducal palaces.

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• State Italy
• Region Marche
• Chief townPesaro-Urbino
• Surface 2.892 km²
• Inhabitants 365.249
• Density 126,3 inhab./km²
• Communes 67
• Number plate PU

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The blue of the sea

• Visiting this part of the Adriatic means
  enjoying the spectacle of two of the very few
  headlands on the entire coastline, San Bartolo
  and Ardizio, taking advantage of the
  tranquillity of small isolated coves or
  experiencing the more frequented yet just as
  inviting sandy beaches. Forty kilometres of soft
  sand stretching from Gabicce to Marotta, between
  Pesaro and Fano, the beach is even wider and the
  rocky shore creates safe havens for those who
  prefer to enjoy the sea while immersed in the
  green of the countryside.

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the San Bartolo Park
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Walking tours in the San Bartolo Park
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A visit you can't lose
Path no. 2 Strada della Marina
Path no. 1 Bocca del Lupo
Path no. 4 Sentiero Vallugola
Path no. 3 Sentiero Vincolungo
Path no. 5 Sentiero delle Chiese
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The towns

• The province of Pesaro-Urbino has an area of
  2,892 km², and a total population of 365,249.
• There are 67 communes.
• As for May 31, 2005, the main communes by
  population are

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Pesaro
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Urbino
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Urbino
Urbino
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The Ducal Palace

The Ducal Palace is a wonderful Renaissance
Court, but also a fortified building if compared
to the below Piano del Mercatale. It can be
reached through the big helicoidal spiral stairs
designed by Francesco di Giorgio Martini (which
connected the Montefeltro Residence to the Data
Stables and the exterior of the walls). The grand
building was built by the will of Federico da
Montefeltro, who initially entrusted the works to
Maso Di Bartolomeo from Florence (in the mid-15th
century), who included in the new building the
old building called Della Jole.
However, the building was mainly the work of the
famous Dalmatian architect Luciano Laurana who
designed the wonderful Cortile dOnore (Courtyard
of Honour) and the main stairs and who raised the
linking elements with the old Castellare,
designing also the wonderful façade with the
Torricini (twin towers).When Laurana left Urbino
in 1472, he was substituted by Francesco di
Giorgio Martini who almost completed the building
and designed the decoration of the façade
overlooking the internal part of the city. For
the portals and windows moulding he called the
Milanese sculptor Ambrogio Barocci, who also made
the main decorations of the big internal rooms
and halls. After the death of the Duke Federico
(1482), the imposing building was interrupted.
Only in the first half of the 16th century the
architect Girolamo Genga added the second floor,
eliminating the battlements and alas, altering
the original features of the whole building which
is today home to the National Gallery of Marche.
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Fano
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Fano Porta Maggiore
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Other Towns
Mondolfo
SantAngelo in Lizzola
Cagli
Fermignano
Fossombrone
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Castles in the province
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THE CASTLE OF GRADARA
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The castle of Gradara

• Situated at 142 metres above sea level, with the
  Republic of San Marino, Rimini and Carpegna in
  the background, Gradara represents an
  extraordinary urban and architectural
  combination.
• Legend has it that the castle was the scene of
  the famous and tragic love story of Paolo and
  Francesca, caught in each other's arms and killed
  by Gianciotto, Francesca's husband. This love
  story was immortalized by Dante in his Divine
  Comedy.

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San Leo Castle The Fortress of San Leo was
built in the Middle Ages and it was here at the
end of the first Millennium, that Germanic
rulers gave birth to the Holy Roman Empire. The
fortress of San Leo itself was enlarged in the
16th Century by the great Siena military
architect Francesco di Giorgio Martini under Duke
Federico II da Montefeltro. It was here, in this
impregnable castle, that the famous adventurer
Giuseppe Balsamo, better known as Count
Cagliostro, lived his last days of imprisonment.
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Santagata Feltria Rocca Fregoso
S. Agata Feltria is the furthest outpost of the
ancient Duchy of Urbino on the border with
Romagna and stands beneath the bare rock on which
the imposing castle of Rocca Fregoso has been
built.
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Sassocorvaro
Its name Sassocorvaro goes back to the 13th
century. It is probably due to the founder father
named Corbarius or, according to other sources,
to many rooks - corvi - which used to make
their home among local rocks and stones.
Ottaviano of the Ubaldini wanted to build the
Fortress on behalf of Federico of the Montefeltro
in 1475. This building is an extraordinary
historical example of military architecture. It
was designed by the famous architect Francesco di
Giorgio Martini, and was the first Italian
fortress to be able to resist the bombard.
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Rocca di Mondavio
The castle of Mondavio stands proud, dominating
the valleys of the river Metauro and the Cesano.
Still today,it is possible to breath the
atmosphere of times gone by the rooms of the
castle are alive with waxworks of cavaliers and
their ladies, complete with costumes and lighting
of the era.
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Fano Rocca Malatestiana
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The Appennini
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The Appennini mountains

• Monte Catria (1702 m)
• Monte Nerone (1525 m)
• Monte Carpegna (1415 m)
• Monte Petrano (1163m)
• Bocca Trabaria 1049 m)
• Monte Paganuccio (976 mt)
• Monte Pietralata (889 mt)

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Gola del Furlo
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Furlo Gorge

• Shortly after Fossombrone, the
• Flaminia Road picks up again,
• almost completely renovated as far
• as the Umbrian border. Thus we must take the
  old route to venture into the
• deep and spectacular FURLO GORGE, named from
  the latin forulus, or
• hole, openened by the Emperor Vespasian in
  76 A.C. at the point in which
• the Flaminia was interrupted by a boulder
  stuck in the gorge, at the bottom
• of which the Candigliano stream flows
  lazily. The tall, rocky walls,
• descending steeply towards the stream, offer
  a charming scenic effect all
• along the gorge, which is a couple of
  kilometers long. In the Furlo gorge
• nature reserve there are equipped family
  picnic areas and canoe hiring to
• explore the crystal clear waters of the
  river Candigliano.