Appennine ridge seen from Urbino Our playground all pictures by Domenico Mocchi
B & B Lupiview must be considered as a base camp to explore our beautifull Apennines by every different mean of transportation
We are situated about 6 km from the UNESCO World Heritage city of Urbino , one of the better preserved renaissance centers in Italy, birthplace of the painter Raphael and place of work of Leonardo , Piero della Francesca and Bramante
The entire town, enclosed in its walls, is a jewel completely preserved in time and boasts the Duke Federico's Palace with it's Museum, the stunning wall paintings of the Salimbeni brothers in the S Giovanni Church and the real size nativity in the San Giuseppe Church and many other historical places such as Raphael's house and the Albornox fortress
The hills all around Urbino are dotted with ancient walled villages, abbeys and fortified garrisons and the landscape is also protected as as one of the best original rural countrysides in Italy,most of the cultivations are OMG free , since this was the birth place of the organic movement in Italy, a perfect terrain to travel on horseback or e bike!
The Adriatic Sea is only 10 miles away and boast one of the few intact tract of coast, also preserved by a regional park. The area between the coast and the main Apennine ridge is one of the best examples of Italian landscape still existing and we have planned routes to explore it by many means : horseback , Emountain bike , foot ( may be behind a truffle dog during the truffle season )
Tuscany and Umbria with Sansepolcro , Città di Castello , Gubbio and Arezzo are only one hour away by car or three by ebike.The old roman city of Fano with its lively port and famous carnival is less than 30 minutes
The MONTEFELTRO'S HERITAGE
Most of Raffaello Sanzio's and Piero della Francesca's masterpieces were painted around Montefeltro, the County which encompasses North Marche, North West Tuscany and North west Umbria and and a slice of Romagna
The Duke Federico da Montefeltro built Urbino as his capital city and developed it as one of the main centers of Italian renaissance and
for this UNESCO awarded World Heritage site status long time ago
Urbino has been dubbed "The Ideal City" because the Duke started to invite the best artists of his age to give shape to his own dream of a place where nature and architecture would blend in a way never seen before
He managed to acheive his goal ,helped by the wealth that he had put together fighting proxy wars as a top soldier if fortune for his rich masters, the popes of Rome
Today Urbino and Montefeltro are blessed with a mix of beauty seldom seen even in a scenographic country like Italy, but the are is not overrun by tourism as its more well known neghbours
The town is one of the best examples of Italian Renaissance , this because Duke Federico not only managed to build his dream city , embellish it with countless works of art, but built his defenses,such as walls and bastions, makeing them part of the whole aesthetic idea of idal city
Even the little fortified villages which dot the countryside and are part of the defensive scheme of Montefeltro add beauty to the harmony of the place
Once the Duchy of Montefeltro encompassed other powerful cities such Gubbio, Sansepolcro and Citta di Castello , now in Umbria and Tuscany, they are now easily reached in less than an hour drive from Urbino
The city is located on the hills facing the main Appennine Range, but it also is only15 km away as the crow flies from the sea
One of the main men of the Duke was his military architect Giorgio Martini and he masterminded the fortified defenses of all the castles around Urbino with a taste of beauty, and the view of the bastions capping the top of the hills are one of the attraction of this area
But Montefeltro is also rich with roman and medieval sites
In Roman times the famous Flaminia Road was built along the souther edge of the County connecting Rome to Rimini on the Adriatic coast
Along it sprouted up roman garrisons and forts, villas and bridges , spas and anphiteatres and their ruins are still visible today
For example only few miles from Urbino , in the Furlo Gorge ,are still in use two motorable tunnel dug out in a cliff 2000 years ago and further up the road there is a roman villa with some of the best mosaics in Italy
Another feature are the many abbeys and hermitages, some of them founded or visited by ST Francis of Assisi who lived and roamed the are between Urbino and Umbria
Most of the are hidden the deep valleys of the mountains behind us , we never fail to visit some of them with our guests
In February we have the Carnival of Urbino in August the Duke's Festival and in September the Kites competition and in December the Winter Duke Festival all well worth a visit
Mid May Gubbio sets up the Ceri Festival , one of the best traditional celebrations in Italy
Most of Raffaello Sanzio's and Piero della Francesca's masterpieces were painted around Montefeltro, the County which encompasses North Marche, North West Tuscany and North west Umbria and and a slice of Romagna
The Duke Federico da Montefeltro built Urbino as his capital city and developed it as one of the main centers of Italian renaissance and
for this UNESCO awarded World Heritage site status long time ago
Urbino has been dubbed "The Ideal City" because the Duke started to invite the best artists of his age to give shape to his own dream of a place where nature and architecture would blend in a way never seen before
He managed to acheive his goal ,helped by the wealth that he had put together fighting proxy wars as a top soldier if fortune for his rich masters, the popes of Rome
Today Urbino and Montefeltro are blessed with a mix of beauty seldom seen even in a scenographic country like Italy, but the are is not overrun by tourism as its more well known neghbours
The town is one of the best examples of Italian Renaissance , this because Duke Federico not only managed to build his dream city , embellish it with countless works of art, but built his defenses,such as walls and bastions, makeing them part of the whole aesthetic idea of idal city
Even the little fortified villages which dot the countryside and are part of the defensive scheme of Montefeltro add beauty to the harmony of the place
Once the Duchy of Montefeltro encompassed other powerful cities such Gubbio, Sansepolcro and Citta di Castello , now in Umbria and Tuscany, they are now easily reached in less than an hour drive from Urbino
The city is located on the hills facing the main Appennine Range, but it also is only15 km away as the crow flies from the sea
One of the main men of the Duke was his military architect Giorgio Martini and he masterminded the fortified defenses of all the castles around Urbino with a taste of beauty, and the view of the bastions capping the top of the hills are one of the attraction of this area
But Montefeltro is also rich with roman and medieval sites
In Roman times the famous Flaminia Road was built along the souther edge of the County connecting Rome to Rimini on the Adriatic coast
Along it sprouted up roman garrisons and forts, villas and bridges , spas and anphiteatres and their ruins are still visible today
For example only few miles from Urbino , in the Furlo Gorge ,are still in use two motorable tunnel dug out in a cliff 2000 years ago and further up the road there is a roman villa with some of the best mosaics in Italy
Another feature are the many abbeys and hermitages, some of them founded or visited by ST Francis of Assisi who lived and roamed the are between Urbino and Umbria
Most of the are hidden the deep valleys of the mountains behind us , we never fail to visit some of them with our guests
In February we have the Carnival of Urbino in August the Duke's Festival and in September the Kites competition and in December the Winter Duke Festival all well worth a visit
Mid May Gubbio sets up the Ceri Festival , one of the best traditional celebrations in Italy