This is one of the main characteristics of the Terra del Duca: having lots of important cities studded over it from the harsh peaks of the Apennines to the gentle shores of the Adriatic, through a succession of rolling hills and beautiful valleys. This results from a history that is completely different from that of other Italian States which had only one capital city, around which other urban centres developed in a somewhat minor key. The Terra del Duca is a State with a “variable geography”, because it grew or decreased according to the vicissitudes of a perennial war between neighbouring lords – a war which went on right up to the middle of the 15th century. First Gubbio was joined to Urbino, followed by Cantiano, Cagli, Casteldurante (Urbania), Fossombrone, Senigallia, Mondavio and Pesaro with their castles. 

In its final form, the Dukedom was composed of an old State (Urbino, Gubbio, San Leo, the Massa Trabaria, Urbania, Fossombrone and Cagli) and of a new State (Senigallia, Mondavio and Pesaro). The old State and the new State therefore comprised relatively small dominions, each with its own capital. At the time when they were annexed to the State of Urbino, each town brought a “dowry” of cultural wealth, which often dated back to the prehistoric age.

The dukes ruled with exceptional fairness in internal and foreign politics – a difficult thing to do in an age which was not only marked by a deep crisis in institutions, both papal and imperial, but also by exaggerated campanilismo (excessive pride in one’s native town). Decentralisation is a wonderful political resource, since having a lot of important towns means being able to carry out a rational distribution of the population and the work throughout the area, and to remove the need to move to the big cities – a source of disorder. It is important to note how the inhabitants of the Dukedom were never called “subjects” but always just “citizens”. The “capitals” of the Terra del Duca, proud of their Statutes and of their long-standing roles, expanded in the age of Montefeltro and Della Rovere, becoming richer in exceptional cultural wealth.

 San Leo                         Senigallia                           Gubbio                                  Pesaro