At the Ducal Palace of Urbino, the Studiolo of Federico da Montefeltro reopened to the public on May 30, after being closed since November 4, 2024.

The Studiolo, conceived as a place for study and personal reflection inspired by medieval monasteries, was completed in 1476. The ceiling and intarsia (wood inlay work) were crafted in Florence by Giuliano and Benedetto da Maiano, while the paintings of 28 figures from the Greco-Roman and medieval worlds—church figures on the lower level (including the Christian poets Dante and Petrarch), and secular figures above—were entrusted to the Flemish painter Justus of Ghent, and later completed by Pedro Berruguete.

In 1631, the Duchy of Urbino reverted to the ownership of the Church. At that time, Cardinal Antonio Barberini, nephew of Pope Urban VIII, had the paintings from the Studiolo gifted to him. The panels were removed from the walls, cut into squares, and transferred to Rome, where they remained the property of the Barberini family until 1812. In 1861, 14 of the portraits were acquired by Napoleon III for the Musée Napoléon (later the Louvre), where they are still held today.

The portraits that remained in Italy were acquired by the Italian State in 1934 and assigned to the National Gallery of the Marche.

*imagery courtesy of the Galleria Nazionale delle Marche