Urbino and the Museum of the Hard to Find

Urbino is a bristling brown city that covers a small hill. Parking outside the city walls, we entered through the gates and wound our way up stairs and slopping narrow alleys between the crowded buildings to the Palazzo Ducale. The Palazzo is a UNESCO world heritage site, and its famous facade as well as the museum inside it are the main attraction of this small city.

Only we couldn't find it. We climbed the hill to the main piazza, and looked around at the buildings, and saw no signs. We did see a sign leading up some of the stairs we came to get here, but in the square, there didn't appear to be any museum. We circled back down hill, and returned searching again. Then, we realized that there was a small open doorway on the piazza, tucked into a corner near some construction. There was not a sign in sight, but here was the Palazzo Ducale and the Galleria Nazionale delle Marche. It's famous facade disguised by plywood surrounding construction work.

The museum, housed in this graceful palace consists mainly of Renaissance works. In fact, according to wikipedia, it is one of the most important such collections in the world. But despite the works by master artists such as Raphael and Titian, a small room known as the Studiolo steals the show. This small room, a sort of renaissance era study, is entirely decorated in wooden inlay work. The entire room looks like it is filled with shelves and cabinets, and the shelves are filled with accoutrements of a thinking mind. But all of these details are but works of art, created by perfectly cut and variously shaded pieces of wood fit together like a puzzle. While no pictures were allowed inside, the wikipedia entry about the Palazzo does show a few examples of the work in this room.