Descrizione
The House of Raphael, a museum site in the historic center of Urbino, is the building that saw the birth of the famous painter Raphael Sanzio. Built in the fifteenth century, the house remained the property of the Santi family until the seventeenth century, when it passed into other hands. In the nineteenth century, it became the heritage of the Municipality of Urbino and was converted into a museum.
The rectangular building has a sandstone façade decorated with an entrance portal and windows. Inside, on two floors, there are the kitchen, the living room and the workshop of Giovanni Santi on the ground floor, while on the first floor there are the bedrooms and Raphael’s study.
The museum houses a valuable art collection, including works such as “The Madonna of the Nativity Scene” by Giovanni Santi and “The Flagellation of Christ” by Pietro della Francesca. Among the rooms of the house, the Great Hall is of particular importance with its coffered ceiling and sixteenth-century fireplace.
Declared a national monument in 1902, Raphael’s House has recently been restored and opened to the public, offering a valuable testimony to the life and art of the great Renaissance master.
