Federico da Montefeltro – condottiero

Patron of the arts made money through war

Piero della Francesca's stark portrait
of Federico da Montefeltro

Federico da Montefeltro, one of the most successful of the Italian condottieri, was born on this day in 1422 in Gubbio.

He has been immortalised by the famous portrait painted of him by Piero della Francesca, where he was dressed in red and showing his formidable profile.

Federico ruled Urbino from 1444 until his death, commissioning the building of a large library where he employed his own team of scribes to copy texts.

He was the illegitimate son of Guidantonio da Montefeltro but he was legitimised by the Pope with the consent of Guidantonio’s wife.

Federico began his career as a condottiero - a kind of mercenary military leader - at the age of 16. When his half brother, who had recently become Duke of Urbino, was assassinated in 1444, Federico seized the city of Urbino.

To bring in money he continued to wage war as a condottiero. He lost his right eye in an accident during a tournament and later commissioned a surgeon to remove the bridge of his nose to improve his field of vision and make him less vulnerable to assassination attempts.

Subsequently, he refused to have his portrait painted in full face, hence he is depicted in profile by Piero della Francesca.

Federico fought on behalf of the Sforza family, the King of Naples and various Popes.

In 1482 he was asked to command the army of Ercole I of Ferrara in his war against Venice but he then caught a fever and died in Ferrara.

Federico imposed justice and stability on Urbino and supported up and coming artists such as Raphael.

He took care of his soldiers when they were killed or wounded by providing dowries for their daughters. As a result his soldiers remained loyal to him and he never lost a battle.

The Ducal Palace in Urbino, a Unesco World
Heritage Site

Travel tip:

Urbino, which is inland from the Adriatic resort of Pesaro, in the Marche region, is a majestic city on a steep hill. It was once a centre of learning and culture, known not just in Italy but also in its glory days throughout Europe. The Ducal Palace, a Renaissance building made famous by The Book of the Courtier, is one of the most important monuments in Italy and is listed as a Unesco World Heritage site.

Travel tip:

Gubbio, where Federico was born, is a small town in Perugia in the region of Umbria that still has many of its medieval buildings. It became absorbed into the territory of the Montefeltro family in the 15th century and Federico Montefeltro had the ancient Palazzo Ducale rebuilt in a similar style to his palace in Urbino.

(Photo of Ducal Palace at Urbino by Florian Prischi CC BY-SA 3.0)

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Raphael - Renaissance painter and architect

Precocious genius from Urbino famous for Vatican frescoes

Raphael's self-portrait, believed to have
been painted in 1506, when he was 23

The Renaissance painter and architect commonly known as Raphael was born Raffaello Sanzio in Urbino, in the Marche region of Italy, on this day in 1483.

Raphael is regarded as one of the masters of the Renaissance, along with Michelangelo and Leonardo da Vinci.  He was more prolific than Da Vinci and, some argue, more versatile than Michelangelo, and was certainly influenced by both.

The young Raphael was taught to paint by his father, Giovanni Santi, who was a painter for the Duke of Urbino, Federigo da Montefeltro, but his talents surpassed those of his father, who died when he was just 11 years old.  He was soon considered one of Urbino's finest painters and was commissioned to paint for a church in a neighbouring town while still a teenager.

In 1500, Raphael moved to Perugia in Umbria to become assistant to Pietro Vannunci, otherwise known as Perugino, absorbing considerable knowledge of his master's technique and incorporating it in his own style.  From 1504 onwards, Raphael spend a good deal of his time in Florence, studying the works of Fra Bartolommeo, Da Vinci, Michelangelo and Masaccio.

He added more intricacy and expressiveness to his own work. He produced a series of paintings depicting the Madonna including La Belle Jardinière, which features the Madonna in an informal pose with the Christ Child and John the Baptist and is regarded as a quintessential example of the Raphael style.

The School of Athens, in the Stanza della Segnatura in the
Vatican, is regarded by some as Raphael's masterpiece

Raphael moved to Rome in 1508 under the patronage of Pope Julius II to work in the Vatican and a year later began to paint a fresco cycle on the four walls of the Stanza della Segnatura to depict Philosophy, Poetry, Theology and Law. The School of Athens, which represented Philosophy, is regarded by some as Raphael's masterpiece.

He went on to paint three more fresco cycles for the Vatican and more paintings of the Madonna, including the famed Sistine Madonna.

It was while working at the Vatican that he received his first commissions to design buildings after the Pope asked him to succeed Donato Bramante, who died in 1514, as his chief architect. Raphael designed a chapel in Sant’ Eligio degli Orefici, the Santa Maria del Popolo Chapel and part of the new Saint Peter’s basilica, although much of his work was later demolished.

His Palazzo Branconio dell'Aquila was destroyed to make way for Bernini's piazza for St Peter's but the Chigi Chapel, which he designed and painted for the Papal treasurer, Agostini Chigi, survives.

On 6 April, 1520, which was Good Friday and his 37th birthday, Raphael died, having fallen into a fever of unexplained cause.  He had been working on his largest painting on canvas, The Transfiguration, at the time of his death. The unfinished work was placed on his coffin stand at his funeral mass, which was attended by a large crowd, before his body was interred at the Pantheon.

Although he was greatly admired by his contemporaries, it was not until the late 17th century that history began fully to appreciate his talent.  His works were at their most popular in the 19th century.

The Casa Natale di Raffaello in Urbino
(Photo: Sailko CC BY-SA 3.0)

Travel tip:

The Casa Natale di Raffaelo - Raphael's birthplace - can be found in the Via Raffaelo Sanzio in Urbino.  Purchased by Raphael's father, Giovanni, in 1460, it became the property of the Raphael Academy in 1875 and subsequently restored.  Nowadays, it is both a shrine to Raphael and a museum of his and his father's work.  It is open for eight hours daily (except Sundays) from March until October and for five hours from November until February.  For more information, visit www.accademiaraffaello.it

Travel tip:

The four Raphael Rooms form a suite of reception rooms in the palace, the public part of the papal apartments in the Palace of the Vatican. They are famous for their frescoes, painted by Raphael and his workshop. Together with Michelangelo's ceiling frescoes in the Sistine Chapel, they are the grand fresco sequences that mark the High Renaissance in Rome.  For more information, visit www.vaticanstate.va

More reading:

The legacy of Michelangelo -'the greatest of all time'

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Guidobaldo I – Duke of Urbino

Military leader headed a cultured court

Guidobaldo da Montefeltro, who was to become Duke of Urbino, was born on this day in Gubbio in 1472. 

He succeeded his father, Federico da Montefeltro, as Duke of Urbino in 1482.

Raphael's portrait of Guidobaldo da
Montefeltro, Duke of Urbino, can be
found at the Uffizi Gallery in Florence

Guidobaldo married Elisabetta Gonzaga, the sister of Francesco II Gonzaga, Marquis of Mantua, but they never had any children.

His court at Urbino was one of the most refined and elegant in Italy where literary men were known to congregate.

The writer Baldassare Castiglione painted an idyllic picture of it in his Book of the Courtier.

Castiglione was related on his mother’s side to the Gonzaga family of Mantua and represented them diplomatically.

As a result he met Guidobaldo, Duke of Urbino, and later took up residence in his court among the many distinguished guests.

During this time Castiglione also became a friend of the painter, Raphael, who painted a portrait of him that is now in The Louvre in Paris.

Castiglione’s book, Il Libro del Cortegiano, was written in the form of an imaginary dialogue between Elisabetta Gonzaga and her guests and provides a unique picture of court life at the time. It was published in 1528, the year before he died.

Guidobaldo fought as a captain on behalf of Pope Alexander VI alongside the French troops during the invasion of southern Italy by King Charles VIII of France.

As a condottiero (mercenary military leader) he was later hired by the Republic of Venice to fight against Charles. At one point he was taken prisoner but was freed after a few months.

He had to flee from Urbino in 1502 to escape the armies of Cesare Borgia, the Pope’s son, but was able to return in 1503 after the Pope died.

Guidobaldo adopted as his heir, Francesco Maria della Rovere, his sister’s child. In 1508 Guidobaldo died, aged 36, and was succeeded as Duke of Urbino by his nephew.

Travel tip:

Urbino, which is inland from the Adriatic resort of Pesaro, in the Marche region, is a majestic city on a steep hill.  It was once a centre of learning and culture, known not just in Italy but also in its glory days throughout Europe. The Ducal Palace, a Renaissance building made famous by The Book of the Courtier, is one of the most important monuments in Italy and is listed as a Unesco World Heritage site.

The Palazzo Ducale in Gubbio
Photo: Sailko (CC BY-SA 3.0)

Travel tip:

Gubbio, where Guidobaldo was born, is a small town in Perugia in the region of Umbria that still has many of its medieval buildings. It became absorbed into the territory of the Montefeltro family in the 15th century and Federico Montefeltro, Guidobaldo’s father, had the ancient Palazzo Ducale rebuilt in a similar style to his palace in Urbino.

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Umberto Eco – novelist and semiotician

Prolific author became fascinated with signs and symbols

Academic and writer Umberto Eco was born on this day in 1932 in Alessandria in Piedmont.

Umberto Eco

He is best known for his mystery novel, The Name of the Rose - Il Nome della Rosa, which was first published in Italian in 1980, but he is also a respected expert on semiotics, the branch of linguistics concerned with signs and symbols.

Eco studied medieval literature and philosophy at the University of Turin and after graduating worked in television as well returning to lecture at the University of Turin.

He has since been a visiting professor at a number of American universities and has received honorary doctorates from universities in America and Serbia.

As well as producing fiction, he has published books on medieval aesthetics, literary criticism, media culture, anthropology and philosophy. He has also helped to found an important new approach in contemporary semiotics and to launch a journal on semiotics.

Eco set his first novel, The Name of the Rose, in a 14th century monastery with a Franciscan friar as the detective. The book has been described as ‘an intellectual mystery combining semiotics in fiction, biblical analysis, medieval studies and literary theory’. In 1986 it was made into a film starring Sean Connery.

Buy The Name Of The Rose, Foucault's Pendulum and Numero Zero.

His novel Foucault’s Pendulum, published in 1988, is about three book editors who decide to have a bit of fun with what they think is a fictional plot to take over the world by a secret order descended from the Knights Templar. But when the story takes over and the deaths start mounting up they are forced to make a frantic search for the truth.

Eco’s most recent novel, Numero Zero, has now been translated from the original Italian by Richard Dixon. First published in English in November 2015, it has been described as being about ‘Mussolini, media hoaxes, gossip and murder’.

Now 84, Eco divides his time between living in his apartment in Milan and his holiday home near Urbino.

UPDATE - Umberto Eco died in Milan in February 2016.

Travel tip:

Alessandria is an historic city about 90 km south east of Turin in Piedmont. It is easy to reach as it is on the Turin–Genoa railway line and is a hub for six other railway lines. It has 14th and 15th century churches in the centre to look round as well as a museum devoted to the Battle of Marengo, which was fought near the town in 1800 between Austrian and French forces.

A view over the walled city of Urbino
Photo: Zyance (CC BY-SA 2.5)

Travel tip:

Urbino is a walled city in the Marche region with a remarkable legacy of Renaissance architecture. One of the highlights is the Palazzo Ducale, built in the 15th century for Federico II da Montefeltro and now home to one of the most important collections of Renaissance paintings in the world.

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Baldassare Castiglione – courtier and diplomat

Writer left a definitive account of life at court in Renaissance Italy

Baldassare Castiglione, the author of the Italian classic, The Book of the Courtier, was born on this day in 1478 near Mantua in Lombardy.

Raphael's portrait of Castiglione
now housed in the Louvre in Paris

His book about etiquette at court and the ideal of the Renaissance gentleman, has been widely read over the years and was even a source of material for Shakespeare after it was translated into English.

Castiglione was born into a noble household and was related on his mother’s side to the powerful Gonzaga family of Mantua. After studying in Milan he succeeded his father as head of the family and was soon representing the Gonzaga family diplomatically.

As a result he met Guidobaldo da Montefeltro, Duke of Urbino, and later took up residence in his court, which was regarded as the most refined and elegant in Italy at the time and received many distinguished guests.

The court was presided over by the Duke’s wife, Elisabetta Gonzaga, who impressed Castiglione so much that he wrote platonic sonnets and songs for her.

During this time he also became a friend of the painter, Raphael, who painted a portrait of him.

Castiglione later took part in an expedition against Venice organised by Pope Julius II during the Italian wars and was then sent by Pope Clement VI as a papal ambassador to Madrid. He died after contracting the plague in Toledo in 1529.

His book, Il Libro del Cortegiano, The Book of the Courtier, was published in 1528, the year before he died. It was written in the form of an imaginary dialogue between Elisabetta Gonzaga and her guests. Some readers have seen it as a guide to how to behave in society, while others have interpreted it as a philosophical work. But Castiglione has undoubtedly left us with a definitive and fascinating account of Renaissance court life.

Travel tip:

Mantua, the capital of the art-loving Gonzaga dukes, is an atmospheric city in Lombardy with many interesting things to see. The highlight is the magnificent Ducal Palace, which dominates the northern part of the city. It has about 500 rooms, which include the remarkable Camera degli Sposi, adorned with frescoes by Andrea Mantegna.

The imposing Ducal Palace in Urbino
Photo by Florian Prischi (CC BY-SA 3.0)

Travel Tip:

Urbino, which is inland from the Adriatic resort of Pesaro, is a majestic city on a steep hill.  It was once a centre of learning and culture, known not just in Italy but also in its glory days throughout Europe. The Ducal Palace, a Renaissance building made famous by Castiglione’s 'The Book of the Courtier', is one of the most important monuments in Italy and is listed as a Unesco World Heritage site.

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