Urbino part 2, Fermignano, Gola del Furlo

We get off to a slow start and decide to visit Palazzo Ducale which on Mondays is open until 2pm. The afternoon before we had had a quick look at the ground floor rooms housing some archaeological remains and etched stones and the small garden behind the cloakroom which is open to the public. The main visit starts on the first floor which is divided into various apartments all of which house the works of art of the Galleria Nazionale delle Marche.

The apartments of Jole host  works by early fourteenth century local painters but also the unusual alcove of Federico which the Duke used whilst waiting for his official apartments on the other side to be finished. All over the palace the wide windows have different types of window seat which fascinates me because I like window seats!

The art exhibition continues in the Melaranci apartments and the Ospiti (guests) apartments where there's also the King of England's room with an interesting ornate ceiling. Most of the rooms are quite bare: except for the paintings just some ceiling centrepieces and decorations but as you pass through look out for the doors which become increasingly interesting for the wood inlay.

The next room has two particularly interesting paintings by Piero della Francesca, the oddly enigmatic Madonna di Senigallia at which I stand and stare for some time, and the Flagellazione, which  has been interpreted in different ways but doesn't capture my attention to the same extent.

Next is the highlight of the visit to Palazzo Ducale - the 'studiolo' of the Duke, Federico di Montefeltro. A tiny room compared to the vast halls of the rest of the Palace, the walls are entirely covered in intricate inlay wood panels showing in particular the cupboard where the Duke 'put away' his armour to dedicate himself to the refined pleasures depicted on the walls around, music, nature, the arts.

Next, we go up the Torricino from where there are fine views of Urbino and the surrounding countryside. 

By now we are getting a little tired but some of the best paintings are in the final part of the palace rooms, in particular the 'Muta' by Raffaello which in a certain sense symbolises Urbino, classy, beautiful, silent, enigmatic and with just a touch of melancholy.....

The second floor of the Palace houses more art and some ceramics but concentration is waning so we have a look at the basements where the whole organization of palace life took place from stables to kitchens to snow store and also the Duke's bathroom, and then head out into the sun in search of sustenance.

Our carefully researched choice of places to eat for one reason or another turn out to be closed on Monday so we go to Aquilone in Via Cesare Battisti where we manage to squash into a corner to eat the typical Crescia, the local and flakier pastry version of the Romagnola piadina. It's hot, tasty and enough.

After, since it's just five minutes walk, we pop back to the Palace for a last look at our favourites and then stroll around the other parts of Urbino we haven't yet visited - the largest plane tree in Europe, the panoramic walk along the walls. There are few tourists about, quite a lot of young people instead. Urbino is a University city and its small population more than doubles with students. It's a sunny day but the air is fresh and Italians have already moved into the autumn uniform of jeans and light jackets although there are still some very short shorts around.

We then walk back up to Parco della Resistenza for a well earned rest, a nothing special capuccino in the bar up there and a last and lingering look at the spectacular view.

Back in the car we head to Fermignano, a small village about 15 minutes away, famous for the Roman bridge and tower, very nice and the waterfall, lacking water it's somewhat a nonevent.

This means it's a quick visit, although I get viciously bitten by mosquitoes while down by the river looking, so we carry on to Gola del Furlo, a gorge nearby. We walk along the road in hope of views, and yes, there are some but the vegetation is quite dense in places. The cliffs are steep and the river a light blue green colour so there are some pretty corners, 

worth a visit if one is in the area but perhaps not a place to go especially if you have already seen other similar places.

We walk back to the car and then drive along the same road, right at the end there is a traffic light which regulates the one-way traffic through the small tunnel carved into the rock.

It's about twenty minutes drive back to our Airbnb and Jazz a little nervously navigates the white dirt road in the other direction, a little steeper and gritty, I'm relieved we don't meet anyone coming in the other direction.

We eat in and get ready to continue our journey south tomorrow.