Urbino is historically famous for the Università Libera (Free University), founded in 1506. It is the seat of a renowned Academy of Beautiful Arts and an Institute for the Decoration and Illustration of Books. The City, for its historical, artistic and cultural importance, is associated with Pesaro regarding the domination of the province; situated high up on a hilly ridge, culminating in two heights and longitudinally orientated with steep lanes, all enclosed by ancient City walls.

It is the native land of Raffaello Sanzio, Baroccio and Brandanti.

Included in the Exarchate of Ravenna, after a short period of Longobard domination (752-756), it passed hands to the Church (8th Century) and in 1155, became the seat of the Imperial vicarship. A county from 1213, its standing was then raised when the Church changed it to a Duchy (1443). The Montefeltro Family gave the City a notable economic impulse, but above all, it was embellished with splendid works of art and gifted with a University and an import library. Passed over to the Della Rovere in 1508, it was once again brought under the direct administration of the apostolic main seat in 1631. After French occupation in 1797, it was annexed to the Roman Republic (1798) and then to the Italian Reign (1808). In 1860, it was part of the insurrectional revolts in the region.

Just like the City of Pesaro, Urbino also has scarce evidence of ancient times and in this case, it also includes little Roman testimony, whilst dating back to the Gothic age, there are the churches of San Domenico (preceding 1365), with their Renaissance doorways (the interior though, was completely redone by Luigi Vanvitelli between 1727 and 1732) and that of San Francesco, from the second half of the 14th Century, the interior of which was also transformed by Vanvitelli (1740).