Cathedral of Santa Maria Assunta

"And among the beautiful factories of oratorj and Chiese, where the city is ennobled, the Cathedral stands out for its architecture, for its paintings, as well as for precious vases and for sacred furnishings, of which it is splendidly rich ... "Carlo Grossi

The Cathedral of Urbino was erected by the bishop Beato Mainardo as early as 1063 to consecrate it to the Virgin Mary Assumed in Heaven. Later in the fifteenth century it was rebuilt again, and at the end of the eighteenth century assumed its definitive neoclassical style, with the façade designed by Morigia, in sharp contrast with the colors of the bricks of the other buildings, and the bell tower built at that time. Outside the façade there are seven statues of saints including St. Crescentino, patron saint of the city celebrated on the first of June. The interior reveals the classical spirit of the architect Giuseppe Valadier, which he worked on since 1789 and 1801: large and solemn, spacious, elegant and noble. The dome is decorated with the image of the four evangelists executed by various painters; in the main altar there is the large painting by C. Unterberger where the "Assumption Madonna" is depicted, to whom the basilica is dedicated. In previous centuries the Cathedral had other forms and other men engaged in the design and construction. when Duke Federico was still alive, it was Francesco di Giorgio Martini himself who took charge of designing the structure of worship. The construction of what the Sienese architect had conceived protruded until 1604, when the dome designed by Muzio Oddi was erected. In 1781 a strong earthquake damaged the Dome and the façade, however, not yet completely complete.

The restoration work proceeded slowly and at the beginning of 1789 the dome gave way, sinking to the basement. The interior of the cathedral measures 60.5 m in length, 36.8 m in width and 50 m in height. It is divided into three naves; in the central one there is the altar, (in the past damaged by the fall of the dome), and the bronzes, by Camillo Rusconi. Several paintings decorate the church and among the most famous we find "The translation of the Santa Casa di Loreto" by Claudio Ridolfi , the "Martyrdom of S. Sebastiano" by Federico Barocci and the "Annunciation" by Raffaello Motta.