Urbino

Federico da Montefeltro ruled Urbino in the second half of the fifteenth century and spent the proceeds of a career as a mercenary commander on building a court that drew mathematicians, architects and painters, producing a palace that Castiglione later used as the setting for his book on how a courtier should behave. The Palazzo Ducale is the result: a building of restrained proportion with twin towers on the valley front, holding Piero della Francesca's Flagellation, a small panel whose spatial construction has generated a library of argument. Raphael was born a few streets away and the house is open.

What you actually see

• The Palazzo Ducale - the Renaissance court palace, restrained and exact.
• Piero della Francesca's Flagellation - the most argued-over small panel in Italy.
• The studiolo - Federico's small study, lined in inlaid wood illusion.
• Raphael's birthplace - a few streets from the palace.

When to go

April to June and September to October. Urbino is a university town and is livelier in term. It is genuinely awkward to reach without a car, with no railway and a bus from Pesaro. Winter in the Marche hills is cold and wet.

Honest expectations

There is no railway station and getting here means a bus or a car on winding roads, which is why it is far less visited than it deserves. The town is steep throughout. Museum hours are limited and closures on Mondays catch people out. Accommodation is limited.

Nearby

The Marche coast is an hour east; San Marino is an hour north.