Duchy of Urbino

(County) Duchy of Urbino Ducato (Contea) di Urbino
State of the Holy Roman Empire
← 1213–1625 →
Coat of arms
The Duchy of Urbino in the 17th Century
Capital		Urbino (1443 - 1523) Pesaro (1523 - 1631)
Government		Principality
Historical era		Middle Ages Renaissance Early modern
-	County created by     Emp. Frederick II	1213
-	Raised to duchy by     Pope Eugene IV	1443
-	Annexed to the     Papal States	1625
Today part of		Italy

The Duchy of Urbino was a sovereign state of northern Italy.

The first lords of Urbino were the Montefeltro, who obtained the title of counts from Emperor Frederick II in 1213. The first Duke was Oddantonio, who received the title from Pope Eugene IV in 1443. The duchy's territories occupied approximately the northern part of the modern region of Marche: they were bordered by the Adriatic Sea at east, the Republic of Florence at west and by the Papal States southwards.

In 1523 the capital was moved to Pesaro. After the short rule by Cesare Borgia in 1502–08, the dukedom went to the della Rovere papal family, who held it until 1625, when Pope Urban VIII annexed to the Papal States as Legazione del Ducato di Urbino (later Legazione di Urbino).

List of lords and Dukes of Urbino

Montefeltro, counts of Urbino

• 1234–1241: Buonconte I da Montefeltro
• 1241–1255: Montefeltrano II da Montefeltro
• 1255–1285: Guido I da Montefeltro (died 1298)
• 1285–1304: Papal rule
• 1296–1322: Federico I da Montefeltro
• 1322–1359: Nolfo da Montefeltro (died 1364)
  • 1322–1324: Papal rule
  • 1359–1364: Papal rule
• 1360–1363: Federico II da Montefeltro
• 1363–1404: Antonio II da Montefeltro
  • 1369–1375: Papal rule
• 1404–1443: Guidantonio da Montefeltro

Coat of Arms of the
House of Montefeltro

Coat of Arms of the
House of della Rovere

Montefeltro, Dukes of Urbino

• 1443–1444: Oddantonio da Montefeltro, first Duke of Urbino
• 1444–1482: Federico III da Montefeltro — title of Duke bestowed upon him 23 August 1474, before that he was Conte di Urbino, count of Urbino.
• 1482–1508: Guidobaldo da Montefeltro
  • 1502–1503: Cesare Borgia has effective control

della Rovere, Dukes of Urbino

• 1508–1516: Francesco Maria I della Rovere
• 1516–1519: Lorenzo II de' Medici (part of 1517, Francesco Maria I della Rovere restored)
• 1521–1538: Francesco Maria I della Rovere
• 1539–1574: Guidobaldo II della Rovere
• 1574–1621: Francesco Maria II della Rovere, 1st. time
• 1621–1623: Federico Ubaldo della Rovere
• 1623–1631: Francesco Maria II della Rovere, 2nd. time (died 1631, resigned authority in 1624)
  • 1625-: to the Papal States

See also

• History of Urbino
• Pesaro
• Federico II da Montefeltro
• List of historic states of Italy
• Holy Roman Empire

Sources

• History of the popes; their church and state (Volume III) by Leopold von Ranke (Wellesley College Library, 2009)
• Franceschini, G. (1970), I Montefeltro . Milan.
• Ugolini, F. (1859), Storia dei conti e duchi d'Urbino . Florence.