Urbania is a ''
comune
A (; : , ) is an administrative division of Italy, roughly equivalent to a township or municipality. It is the third-level administrative division of Italy, after regions () and provinces (). The can also have the City status in Italy, titl ...
'' (municipality) in the
Province of Pesaro e Urbino in the Italian region of
Marche
Marche ( ; ), in English sometimes referred to as the Marches ( ) from the Italian name of the region (Le Marche), is one of the Regions of Italy, twenty regions of Italy. The region is located in the Central Italy, central area of the country, ...
, located about west of
Ancona
Ancona (, also ; ) is a city and a seaport in the Marche region of central Italy, with a population of around 101,997 . Ancona is the capital of the province of Ancona, homonymous province and of the region. The city is located northeast of Ro ...
and about southwest of
Pesaro
Pesaro (; ) is a (municipality) in the Italy, Italian region of Marche, capital of the province of Pesaro and Urbino, on the Adriatic Sea. According to the 2011 census, its population was 95,011, making it the second most populous city in the ...
, next to the river
Metauro.
Urbania borders the following municipalities:
Acqualagna,
Apecchio,
Cagli,
Fermignano,
Peglio,
Piobbico,
Sant'Angelo in Vado,
Urbino
Urbino ( , ; Romagnol: ''Urbìn'') is a ''comune'' (municipality) in the Italy, Italian region of Marche, southwest of Pesaro, a World Heritage Site notable for a remarkable historical legacy of independent Renaissance culture, especially und ...
.
It is a famous
ceramics and
majolica production centre. In recent years, it has become more closely associated with the
Befana folk tradition.
History
Originally known as Castel delle Ripe, it was a free
commune of the
Guelph
Guelph ( ; 2021 Canadian Census population 143,740) is a city in Southwestern Ontario, Canada. Known as The Royal City, it is roughly east of Kitchener, Ontario, Kitchener and west of Downtown Toronto, at the intersection of Ontario Highway 6, ...
party. In 1277 it was destroyed by the
Ghibellines, then rebuilt by the Provençal Guillaume Durand in 1284 and christened Castel Durante. Later it was ruled by the Brancaleoni family. When the latter were ousted, the city offered itself to the
Dukes of Urbino, who used the palace in the city as summer residence and had it restored by architects such as
Francesco di Giorgio Martini. The last della Rovere duke,
Francesco Maria II, is buried in the Ducal Palace of Urbania.
In 1631 it became part of the
Papal States
The Papal States ( ; ; ), officially the State of the Church, were a conglomeration of territories on the Italian peninsula under the direct sovereign rule of the pope from 756 to 1870. They were among the major states of Italy from the 8th c ...
. Five years later its name changed to the current one, in honor of
Pope Urban VIII
Pope Urban VIII (; ; baptised 5 April 1568 – 29 July 1644), born Maffeo Vincenzo Barberini, was head of the Catholic Church and ruler of the Papal States from 6 August 1623 to his death, in July 1644. As pope, he expanded the papal terri ...
.
On 23 January 1944 Urbania was bombed by the Allies, resulting in the deaths of 250 civilians.
It was a Sunday so the people had gathered in the town, increasing the number of victims.
After
World War II
World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...
Urbania received the Bronze Medal for Military Valour for the deeds of its citizens during the partisan warfare.
Geology
The base of the
Chattian international stratigraphical stage is located in Urbania and is marked by a
GSSP
A Global Boundary Stratotype Section and Point (GSSP), sometimes referred to as a golden spike, is an internationally agreed upon reference point on a stratigraphic section which defines the lower boundary of a stage on the geologic time scale. ...
and commemorative sign which were installed there in May 2017.
Main sights
200px, The main entrance of the Barco Ducale viewed from south west
*
Ducal Palace: The palace houses a museum and a library. Among the prize holdings are globes made by the Flemish-born, German natural scientist
Gerardus Mercator
Gerardus Mercator (; 5 March 1512 – 2 December 1594) was a Flemish people, Flemish geographer, cosmographer and Cartography, cartographer. He is most renowned for creating the Mercator 1569 world map, 1569 world map based on a new Mercator pr ...
between 1541 and 1551.
* ''Chiesa dei Morti'' (Church of the Dead), with 18 natural
mummies from the Middle Ages and the Renaissance exposed behind the altar.
* The medieval walls.
* The 'Barco Ducale' is one kilometer outside of the town. It was erected in 1465. After an earthquake, it was rebuilt between 1741 and 1771. Normally you can not enter the building.
*
Urbania Cathedral
*
Santa Caterina
*
Santa Chiara
*
Santissimo Crocifisso
*
San Francesco
*
Santa Maria Maddalena
Population History
Colors=
id:lightgrey value:gray(0.9)
id:darkgrey value:gray(0.8)
id:sfondo value:rgb(1,1,1)
id:barra value:rgb(0.6,0.7,0.8)
ImageSize = width:455 height:303
PlotArea = left:50 bottom:50 top:30 right:30
DateFormat = x.y
Period = from:0 till:7500
TimeAxis = orientation:vertical
AlignBars = justify
ScaleMajor = gridcolor:darkgrey increment:500 start:0
ScaleMinor = gridcolor:lightgrey increment:100 start:0
BackgroundColors = canvas:sfondo
BarData=
bar:1861 text:1861
bar:1871 text:1871
bar:1881 text:1881
bar:1901 text:1901
bar:1911 text:1911
bar:1921 text:1921
bar:1931 text:1931
bar:1936 text:1936
bar:1951 text:1951
bar:1961 text:1961
bar:1971 text:1971
bar:1981 text:1981
bar:1991 text:1991
bar:2001 text:2001
PlotData=
color:barra width:20 align:left
bar:1861 from: 0 till:4701
bar:1871 from: 0 till:5028
bar:1881 from: 0 till:5138
bar:1901 from: 0 till:5715
bar:1911 from: 0 till:5941
bar:1921 from: 0 till:6250
bar:1931 from: 0 till:6818
bar:1936 from: 0 till:6739
bar:1951 from: 0 till:7008
bar:1961 from: 0 till:6212
bar:1971 from: 0 till:5869
bar:1981 from: 0 till:6326
bar:1991 from: 0 till:6365
bar:2001 from: 0 till:6643
PlotData=
bar:1861 at:4701 fontsize:XS text: 4701 shift:(-8,5)
bar:1871 at:5028 fontsize:XS text: 5028 shift:(-8,5)
bar:1881 at:5138 fontsize:XS text: 5138 shift:(-8,5)
bar:1901 at:5715 fontsize:XS text: 5715 shift:(-8,5)
bar:1911 at:5941 fontsize:XS text: 5941 shift:(-8,5)
bar:1921 at:6250 fontsize:XS text: 6250 shift:(-8,5)
bar:1931 at:6818 fontsize:XS text: 6818 shift:(-8,5)
bar:1936 at:6739 fontsize:XS text: 6739 shift:(-8,5)
bar:1951 at:7008 fontsize:XS text: 7008 shift:(-8,5)
bar:1961 at:6212 fontsize:XS text: 6212 shift:(-8,5)
bar:1971 at:5869 fontsize:XS text: 5869 shift:(-8,5)
bar:1981 at:6326 fontsize:XS text: 6326 shift:(-8,5)
bar:1991 at:6365 fontsize:XS text: 6365 shift:(-8,5)
bar:2001 at:6643 fontsize:XS text: 6643 shift:(-8,5)
TextData=
fontsize:S pos:(20,20)
text:Data from ISTAT
References
External links
Urbania official website
{{authority control
Cities and towns in the Marche