galleria nazionale delle marche

Mention Raphael and my antennae are bristling. Mention Urbino and my artistic fibres are aflame and excited. The city is my type of urbane delight. It houses, the National Museum of the Marches in the Ducal Palace, one of, if not, the most prestigious in all of Italy. Its not a grand claim for this is where Raphael was born and studied, producing so much that has enriched our lives. The palace celebrates the Renaissance ideals of harmony and balance, as evidenced in the Duke's study, a gem of intarsia work and trompe l'oeil scenes, and the small chapel, Throne room and the Salon of Angles. Its name is taken from a series of friezes by Rosselli. Walk slowly taking in each feature such as the Set of Doon, designed by Botticelli, not far from the superb arcaded courtyard and magnificent hanging garden. Its all here, traces of Renaissance mingle with the Gothe-Romanesque, as well as the Neoclassic. The city is a centre of art as its always been, even with restoration works which have been mercifully discreet and respectful. The town's street pattern, a harmonious continuity from the Middle Ages and the wealth of architectural patrimony is exceptional. Urbino swells our hearts with joy and liberates a tear or two in appreciation of its glorious edifices. To think, where once were fields and farmers' lodgings now sits modern Urbino, thriving and enjoying its status with nature and alot of pride. A trip to the museum needs a minimum of half a day and probably requiring a return, to absorb the rich collection of masterpieces.

The 5€ admission was quite the value with access to the palace AND art of the masters of the Marche region, including Rafaello and his father, as well as Piero della Francesca.

Urbino is one of the most amazing places in all of Italy. Truth in advertising, we were there several years ago in March for work and had the chance to wander through the streets and came upon this lovely gallery. English text made the exhibits far more enjoyable: the il Greco fireplace, painting of Raphael (the silent one--memorialized by the writer Leslie Forbes in her novel "Waking Raphael"), the Courtyard of Honor are all wonderful to witness first hand. Worth a visit. Hope to visit again.

Housed in the Palazzo Ducale, the Galleria Nazionale delle Marche houses one of the most important collections of Renaissance art in the world. The Duke of Urbino's famous studiolo is well worth seeing and an excellent example of the art of intarsia (wood inlay). This isn't the best art museum in the world, but if you're in Urbino, or are a student of Renaissance Art, it's worth a look. I enjoyed my visit.

Impressed by the texts in English. An actress gave a performance of the mecenate who created the collection and donated it to the Town Pesaro. The collection is fine, the actress was good. There is a small painting, a head of an old man by Rubens. Beautiful.

The grandeur of the ducal palace seemed the perfect setting for this great collection. There are too many paintings to enjoy them all, so we accelerated half-way round in order to appreciate the best on offer. And when we suddenly came to Piero della Francesca's 'Flagellation', it was truly arresting and intriguing.

The collection of paintings is part of the museum in Ducal palace. In gallery you can see mostly works from the period of late gothic and renessance and some baroque works. It manly consist of the works of lesser known (but quality) artists from Marche and Toscana region. Three main attractions are Silent Woman of Raffael (artist born in Urbino), Flageration of Christ by Piero della Francesca and Ideal city (sometimes attributed to the same author, today unattributed). All three, but especially della Framcescoes works are reason enough that visiting museum is a must, if you are nearby.

The Palazzo Ducale holds an astonishing collection of art (and fireplaces!), but by far the most amazing were the two small works by Piero della Francesca. Absolutely worth the trip.

Urbino is a charming city of art. It offers scenografic views of Palazzo ducale with its famous two towers. Inside palazzo Ducale there is the Galleria Nazionale delle Marche with a wide collection of Rinascimento masters and the "studiolo" of duke Federico, a small room with wonderful wooden decoration. The city is small and full of young people because there is an university. On the road to Urbino from Pesaro, on the coast, it is worthy to visit the Gola del Furlo, a narrow passage between two mountains where the emperor Vespasiano built one of the first road tunnels in Europe, in the first century. Before Urbino it is nice to visit Fermignano, a small town with a beautiful view of Metauro river, an ancient stone bridge and a dismissed electric power plant.

I was definitely looking forward to a visit to the Galleria Nazionale delle Marche, housed in the Palazzo Ducale; it has the makings of a great museum; art (from the 14th to the 17 century) displayed in a fabulous palace, but in the end I was disappointed. I visited in February and maybe because it’s off season, they were doing extensive renovations on the palace, thus some rooms were closed and the art was displaced. It appeared if several paintings were moved to a hallway and rope stanchions were used to keep visitors at a distance, but it was difficult to see the painting’s information and appreciate the painting’s details. I’m certainly an advocate of protecting paintings especially from the escalating problem of art thief, but the alarm sensors in front of several paintings throughout the museum were obtrusive. Also two major paintings are currently on loan; the L. Lotto, San Roca and the Rapheal’s, La Muta, very disappointing! A beautiful Santi (Rapheal's father) painting was behind scaffolding. The large collection of ceramics is intact, but doesn’t really interest me nor does the Museo Archeologico which is incorporated into the palace, so if you love paintings, you might be disappointed. Generally the museum is in disarray and felt more like a construction site then a museum! The museum has a nice gift shop, free lockers (but keep your coat, it was COLD!-could be great in the summer) and clean bathrooms. I was very please that it's open on Monday mornings until 1pm, which is so unusual for museums! Each room has a very brief explanation in both Italian and English, explaining what the room was used for and the contents of the room, otherwise there is little available. When I purchased my ticket (5 euro), I didn’t notice that an audio guide was available, this might help, although I didn’t notice very many headphone signs throughout the museum. The women selling tickets was more interested in her cell phone then welcoming visitors. No photographs are allowed anywhere in the museum. Lots of steps to climb; didn't notice an elevator. Overall, disappointing but come Spring/Summer the museum might be in better shape and you could have a totally different experience! In any case, the city of Urbino is wonderful and I really enjoyed my visit there!

The collectiuon is exquisite, with top works from such artists as Raphaello, Piero della Francesca, Tintoretto, Giusto di Ghand and so on. All this set in a magnificent palace situated in probably the best kept Renaissance town in the world.People tend to forget Le Marche, with all the splendours of Tuscany and Umbria, but they are mistaken. Take the opportunity. Forget the highways and drive along the romantic secondary roads either through the mountains or along the seaside and then visit Urbino and its Palazzo Ducale. You will never regret nor forget.

Inside the most beautiful Renaissance Palace some beautiful paintings, with perhaps the most written about of them: The "Flagellazione" by Piero della Francesca.

This is an excellent art collection, located in the former ducal palace. The day we went to Urbino there were very few tourists about, and only a few visitors to the gallery. Although its collection is not as extensive as the Uffuzi in Firenze, it is very well presented, and we found it a much better experience, as we could wander around untroubled by huge crowds.We visited Urbino for the day from where we are staying in Umbria. If you can get there, it is a great place to visit for a few hours.

The National Gallery is housed within Palazzo Ducale, so you get to see both at the same time. This type of arrangement is not unusual in italy, but it is only here that I still perceive the ideals of the Renaissance.Part of the Gallery's charm is the enigmatic feeling that pervades its masterpieces, the deserted Citta' Ideale, the three unknowns of Piero della Francesca's Flagellation, the silence of Raphael's Muta. Most other paintings are interesting, even if they are not first class pieces, for examples the small collection of paintings by Raphael's father Giovanni Santi.The palace itself is a wonderful masterpiece of Renaissance architecture, and it hides a jewel of wood intarsia, the Studiolo (little office) of the Duke. The contrast between the wide, luminous halls of the palace and the tiny, secluded, dark Studiolo is astonishing.Complete your visit with a look at the palace from the outside, one of the best views is from the facing hill where the Albornoz fortress is.

I reviewed the artwork with the Palazzo. The curators have had to fit the material into the space available.