History
The modest Roman town of Urbinum Mataurense ("the little city on the river Mataurus") became an important strategic stronghold in the Gothic Wars of the 6th century, captured in 538 from the Ostrogoths by the Byzantine General Belisarius.
Though Pepin the Short (King of the Franks) presented Urbino to the Papacy in 754/756, independent traditions were expressed in its commune until, around 1200, it came into the possession of the House of Montefeltro. Although these noblemen had no direct authority over the commune, they could pressure it to elect them to the position of Podestà, a title that Bonconte di Montefeltro managed to obtain in 1213, with the result that Urbino's population rebelled and formed an alliance with the independent commune of Rimini (1228), finally regaining control of the town in 1234. Eventually, though, the Montefeltro noblemen took control once more, and held it until 1508. In the struggles between the Guelphs and Ghibellines, when factions supported either the Papacy or the Holy Roman Empire respectively, the 13th and 14th century Montefeltro lords of Urbino were leaders of the Ghibellines of the Marche and in the Romagna region.
The most famous member of the Montefeltro family was Federico da Montefeltro, Duke of Urbino from 1444 to 1482, a very successful condottiere, a skillful diplomat and an enthusiastic patron of art and literature.
Frederick put his hand to the political imperative and began a reorganization of the state, which also included a restructuring of the city according to a modern conception, comfortable, efficient and beautiful. Thanks to his efforts, the nearly four decades of his rule the government was aimed at this purpose, which, thanks to his extraordinary qualities combined with a considerable fortune, he fully realized this dream.
At his court, Piero della Francesca wrote on the science of perspective, Francesco di Giorgio Martini wrote his Trattato di architettura ("Treatise on Architecture") and Raphael's father, Giovanni Santi, wrote his poetical account of the chief artists of his time. Federico's brilliant court set standards of what was to characterize a modern European "gentleman" for centuries to come.
Cesare Borgia dispossessed Guidobaldo da Montefeltro, Duke of Urbino, and Elisabetta Gonzaga in 1502, with the complicity of his father, Pope Alexander VI. Urbino was part of the Papal States under the dynasty of the dukes Della Rovere (1508 - 1631). They moved in 1523 the court in the city of Pesaro and Urbino began a slow decline that would continue until the last decades of the seventeenth century.
In 1626, Pope Urban VIII definitively incorporated the Duchy into the papal dominions, to be governed by the archbishop.
In 1701 Cardinal Giovan Francesco Albani Urbino was elected to papacy under the name of Clement XI . This was a windfall for the city and was its last great era, especially in terms of arts and culture, thanks to funding by Pope Albani and his family. Major renovation of several buildings, churches and monasteries took place, such as Palazzo Albani, part of the façade of the Town Hall, the Archbishop's Palace and the Chapel Albani (inside the convent of St. Francis). This new age of splendor for the city ended with the death of Clement XI in 1721, placing the city in a long decline.
Between 1797 and 1800 the city was occupied by French troops, like much of northern and central Italy. During the French occupation Urbino and its territory suffered from the acquisitions of important works of art by the French, which were moved to Paris or Milan, in the nascent galleries of the Louvre and Brera.
On September 8, 1860 the Piedmontese troops forced the surrender of the last resistance of the papal army.
With the outbreak of World War II the city suffered no bombing, thanks to the large red cross painted on the roof of the Ducal Palace and an agreement between the Germans and the Allies. Only towards the end of the war did the retreating German troops try to destroy all the ramparts of the walls, but luckily the mines were tampered with by the workers the Germans had hired from Urbino.
During the war, the then Superintendent of the Galleries and Works of Art in Urbino in the Marche Pasquale Rotondi secretly placed around 10,000 priceless works (including those of Giorgione, Piero della Francesca, Paolo Uccello, Titian, Mantegna, Raphael and many more, from all the major museums in Italy) that were stolen by the Nazis into the Rock of Sassocorvaro . His actions gained worldwide recognition and to this day the Rock of Sassocorvaro is known as the "Arc of Art".

See
• The main attraction of Urbino is the Palazzo Ducale, begun in the second half of the 15th century by Federico II da Montefeltro. It houses the Galleria Nazionale delle Marche, one of the most important collections of Renaissance paintings in the world.
• The Albornoz Fortress (known locally as La Fortezza) was built by the eponymous Papal legate in the 14th century. In 1507-1511, when the Della Rovere added a new series of walls to the city, the rock was enclosed in them. It is now a public park.
• The Duomo di Urbino (cathedral) is a church founded in 1021 over a 6th century religious edifice. Finished only in 1604, the Duomo had a simple plan with a nave and two aisles, and was destroyed by an earthquake in 1789. The church was again rebuilt by the Roman architect Giuseppe Valadier, the works lasting until 1801. The new church has a typical neo-classicist appearance, with a majestic dome.
• The Church of Sant'Agostino was built in Romanesque style in the 13th century but largely modified in the following centuries. The façade has a late 14th century almond portal in Gothic-Romanesque style, while the interior is greatly decorated. It houses a precious carved choir from the 16th century, manufactured for the marriage of Costanzo Sforza and Camilla of Aragona. The bell tower is from the 15th century.
• The Oratory of San Giuseppe (early 16th century) is composed of two chapels, one of which contains a 16th century Presepio (Nativity scene) by Federico Brandani. The stucco figures are lifesize and highly naturalistic.