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Urbino
On the next leg of our trip home we stopped in Urbino. We heard the brass section of a band echoing from a central piazza up the hill, so we followed the sound and figured out the lay of the land. The town is host to a university, where we first found ourselves snooping around. At the buildings we saw early on, we’d walk in, get a few weird looks, realize we’re in an administrative office or class hall, and awkwardly scurry out. It wasn’t a big deal, but the people inside were throwin alllll kinds of “stupid American” daggers with their eyes. Once we were better informed, we moved towards another Duomo.
It was a nice space inside, and it got me thinking about how the church has evolved in architecture. It’s no secret that most of the buildings we’ve seen here in Europe are related to religion, and have stood the test of time. During their design, there must have been a unique working relationship between the bishops commissioning the churches and the architects they chose to represent their faith. Whatever dialogue they had without a doubt helped produce some of the most visited pieces of built work in the world. Until recently it seems churches were one typology nobody was afraid to splurge on, so its no wonder the old ones are so huge and awesome.
Anyways we wandered around a bit more and saw the Ducal Palace before hittin the road. I definitely would have spent some more time there if we didn’t have to leave, but we had rooms waiting for us in Bologna…
