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All images © by Roberto Piperno, owner of the domain. Write to romapip@quipo.it. Text edited by Rosamie Moore.
A pope from Urbino A POPE FROM URBINO

In the XIIIth century the town of Urbino came into the possession of the Montefeltro family and in the second half of the XVth century under Federico da Montefeltro it attained great prosperity.

View from the fortress


Federico was a condottiere which in Latin is dux (hence duke) and the palace erected for him by Luciano Laurana shows many "F. D." in the decoration. Federico was however careful in maintaining good relationships with the Papacy and together with dux he also emphasized his being a comes (chevalier/knight) of the Church. So the balconies, which are the most distinctive feature of the palace, have the inscription "F. C.".
To retain their domain the Montefeltro allied with other powerful families, chiefly the Della Rovere. The daughter of Federico married Giovanni della Rovere, a nephew of Pope Sixtus IV and his son Guidubaldo married Elisabetta Gonzaga, daughter of the duke of Mantua.
The coat of arms of Federico, showed his obedience to the Church by having a narrow vertical strip with the pope's heraldic symbols. In 1508 at the death of Guidubaldo, Urbino was bequeathed to his nephew Francesco Maria della Rovere and the coat of arms of the Montefeltro was enriched with the oak of the Della Rovere.

Coats of arms

In 1626 Pope Urbanus VIII convinced the last and childless duke Federico Maria II to return his possessions to the State of the Church.
Urbino rapidly lost importance and entered a period of decadence. The popes focused their attention on Rome and little money was spent elsewhere, unless the Pope had a special reason for doing so.
In November 1700, Cardinal Giovan Francesco Albani was elected Pope and called himself Pope Clemens XI. For Urbino the election was a lottery as the pope and his family tried to reverse the downward trend of the local economy.

Palazzo Albani

Gian Francesco Albani had been appointed cardinal by Pope Alexander VIII and as a sign of gratitude he put over the entrance of his palace the coat of arms of this pope. The interior of the palace is decorated with the Albani's heraldic symbols : three mountains topped by a star.

Palazzo Albani

Palazzo Ducale

Clemens XI was so interested in Urbino, that the "talking" statues of Rome had this little conversation:
Marforio:- Dimmi: che fai Pasquino? (Pasquino, tell me: what are you doing?)
Pasquino:- Eh, guardo Roma, chè non vada a Urbino (I watch over Rome, to make sure it's not moved to Urbino)
He restored Palazzo Ducale, without emphasizing what he had done, but just putting his mark on little details (the little pillars at the entrance and the top of the well in the courtyard).


Palazzo Ducale



XVIIIth century Lifestyle



Porcelain

Urbino, or to be more precise Castel Durante (renamed Urbania after Urbanus VIII), had a tradition for high quality majolicas. This, coupled with the XVIIIth century passion for coffee and cocoa, explains why in the Cathedral Museum you can find this set with the family symbols.

The Obelisk

The obelisk set

Clemens XI and his nephew Cardinal Annibale were very fond of Roman memories. Clemens XI erected in Piazza della Rotonda an obelisk from the Temple of Isis; his nephew transferred to Urbino another obelisk from that temple and as usual topped it with the family symbols (to see all the obelisks of Rome click here).

Fountain of Benedictus XIII

Fountain

The influence of the Albani lasted for a little while after the death in 1721 of Clemens XI. This fountain opposite Palazzo Albani bears the coat of arms of one his successors (Benedictus XIII), but the stars are a reference to the Albani.




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