Overview
In the birthplace of this great Urbino-born artist
In Urbino, in the house where great artist Raphael was born, on 28 March 1483, and spent his first years of artistic training, you can explore the Casa Natale di Raffaello museum. Bought by his father Giovanni Santi in 1460, the building passed to his heirs on the death of his son in 1520, who divided it among them. Urbino-born architect Muzio Oddi later bought part of the ancient dwelling and restored it, adding a Latin inscription to the façade with a couplet by Pietro Bembo, still visible today.
The house was acquired in 1873 by the Raphael Academy, which, thanks to the generous contribution of London nobleman John Morris Moore, set up its headquarters there and adorned it with numerous works of art, thanks to the collaboration of private citizens and public institutions.
A large first-floor room with a coffered ceiling is home to the Annunciation by Giovanni Santi, alongside 19th-century copies of Raphael’s Madonna of the chair and Ezekiel’s Vision. In an adjoining room, believed to be the room where the painter was born, is a fresco of the Madonna and Child. Of particular interest are a drawing attributed to Bramante and a collection of Renaissance ceramics. The upper floor houses manuscripts, rare editions, coins and commemorative 19th-century portraits.
