San Bernardino degli Zoccolanti.
Our visit to Urbino started rather far outside the built-up area of the town. The church and convent of San Bernardino degli Zoccolanti, dedicated to the famous Franciscan preacher Saint Bernardinus of Siena (1380-1444), are situated on a hill to the east of the town. Although our travel guide spoke of a 30-minute walk from the centre of Urbino and we generally prefer to go on foot, we decided to take the car this time. After arriving, we noticed how quiet it was on the hill. The only other visitors had come for the cemetery next to the complex, but even the stall that sells flowers for the graves was closed. Fortunately, the church of San Bernardino turned out to be open. In terms of architecture and art it is not a very interesting church. The reason to visit the building is the presence of two seventeenth-century funerary monuments for Federico da Montefeltro (1422-1482) and his son Guidobaldo (1472-1508), who between 1444 and 1508 ruled over Urbino as lords and dukes. Even better than the monuments is the view of lovely Urbino that one has from the hill.
History
In 1425 a group of Observant Franciscans, followers of Bernardinus, settled on the hill. Count Guidantonio da Montefeltro, Lord of Urbino, had granted them the church of San Donato there. In 1437 the Franciscans started the construction of their convent. As the friars wore clogs – zoccoli in Italian – they were commonly known as Zoccolanti. The convent was completed with financial aid from Federico da Montefeltro, who had come to power in Urbino in 1444. After his death the church of San Bernardino degli Zoccolanti was built, on the one hand to replace the old church of San Donato, on the other to serve as a mausoleum for the duke and his successors. The construction was very likely led by the court architect Francesco di Giorgio Martini (1439-1501), who received some help from Donato Bramante (1444-1514), an architect from the town of Fermignano, which is not far from Urbino. Work on the church must have started shortly after the duke’s death in 1482. San Bernardino was completed in 1491.
San Bernardino on the hill.
This is a good moment to take a closer look at the man behind Duke Federico. As I have already done that before, I will make extensive use of that previous post. I am certain that my readers will forgive me this piece of self-plagiarism. Federico was the illegitimate son of Guidantonio da Montefeltro.[1] His father decided to legitimise him, as his marriage had failed to produce offspring. However, after the death of his first wife Guidantonio married again, and his second marriage proved to be more fruitful. Several children were born, among them his son Oddantonio da Montefeltro. It was Oddantonio who succeeded Guidantonio in 1443 and immediately saw himself promoted to duke by Pope Eugenius IV (1431-1447). Oddantonio was some five years younger than his half-brother. His excessive taxes (intended for financing his parties) and sexual misconduct made him immensely unpopular. In 1444 he was murdered, just seventeen years old. His body was found with the severed penis of the deceased in his mouth. Federico was now the new ruler of Urbino. De facto he was also duke, although he would only be formally granted the title thirty years later.
View of Urbino from the hill.
Federico da Montefeltro was first and foremost a condottiero, a mercenary captain. He had learned the trade from another famous warrior, Niccolò Piccinino (1386-1444), but had quickly surpassed his master in knowledge and skill. As a mercenary captain, he always fought for the one who paid him best. And since his services were in high demand, he soon became very wealthy. But Federico was not just a soldier. He was also a very civilised man, a man of the Renaissance, a protector of arts and sciences, and the founder of an immense library. Unfortunately, the face of the duke was badly mutilated. During a jousting tournament in 1450 he had refused to wear a helmet with a visor. His opponent had subsequently struck him in the face with his lance, which had led to a broken nose and the loss of an eye. Because of his injuries Federico had himself depicted exclusively in profile, so that only the side of his face with his remaining left eye would be visible. The story that Federico had ordered a surgeon to remove the bridge of his nose so that he could look the other way with his remaining eye is probably a myth.
Interior of the church.
In 1437, Federico – just 15 years old at the time – married Gentile Brancaleoni (1416-1457), who was several years his senior. The marriage remained childless. Federico remarried in 1460, this time to Battista Sforza. She had been born in 1446 as the daughter of the Lord of Pesaro, Alessandro Sforza. In spite of the age difference between the two of almost a quarter of a century their marriage was a success. Unfortunately, Battista passed away at the tender age of 25 or 26. In 1472 she gave birth to Federico’s son and successor Guidobaldo. It was a difficult birth, and Battista never fully recovered. Just a few months later she died, leaving behind a grief-stricken husband. Federico decided not to marry for a third time, and his recognition as Duke of Urbino in 1474 will not have brought him much joy. Several years later the duke suffered a fall from a balcony which left him crippled. During a last campaign for Ferrara against Venice – a campaign that was part of the so-called Salt War – the duke developed a high fever, to which he succumbed on 10 September 1482 at the age of sixty.
Things to see
The church of San Bernardino is a simple Renaissance church. The exterior consists almost entirely of brick, with the exception of the travertine portal. The church has a nice circular dome with a lantern, in which my humorous travel guide with some justification sees a bathtub plug. The campanile on the right side does not extend above the dome. Apparently this is the result of an earthquake in 1741, which led to the loss of the upper part of the tower. The interior of the church is light and also quite simple. The altarpiece of the Madonna and Child with Saints Bernardinus and James of the Marches (Giacomo della Marca; 1393-1476) dates from the nineteenth century and was made by Filippo Bigioli (1798-1878). This was not the original altarpiece. The original altarpiece was the famous Pala di Brera, also known as the Pala Montefeltro, painted in ca. 1472-1474 by Piero della Francesca (ca. 1415-1492). This panel painting was looted in 1811 by French troops and taken to Milan. That is why we currently find the work in the Pinacoteca di Brera. The painting depicts Federico on his knees and – of course – in profile. Saint Bernardinus of Siena is also featured.
Federico da Montefeltro, his son Guidobaldo and Guidobaldo’s wife Elisabetta Gonzaga (1471-1526) were buried in the church. As Guidobaldo was impotent, he failed to produce any offspring with Elisabetta. As a consequence, Federico’s dream of turning the San Bernardino into a family mausoleum burst like a soap bubble. After his death in 1508, Guidobaldo was succeeded as duke by his cousin Francesco Maria I della Rovere. The dukes from the new dynasty found their final resting place in the monastery of Santa Chiara within the city walls. The funerary monuments for Federico, Guidobaldo and Elisabetta that we find in the church of San Bernardino are not contemporary. They were only made in the seventeenth century (around 1620) and represent the style of the Baroque. Both monuments were mostly made of black marble. The monument on the left is that of Federico, with a bust attributed to Girolamo Campagna (1549-1625). The bust shows us a balding duke with both of his eyes still intact. Opposite the duke’s monument is that of Guidobaldo and Elisabetta. For some reason it only has a bust of the former. It is only when we read the Latin text above it that we realise that it was also made for Elisabetta Gonzaga.
Sources: Bradt travel guide Umbria & the Marche (2021), p. 272, information panels in the church, ARTE.it – Mappare l’Arte in Italia and Chiesa di San Bernardino – Urbino. For more about Federico da Montefeltro, see Ross King, The Bookseller of Florence, p. 237-238.
Note
[1] According to an alternative theory his real father was Bernardino Ubaldini (1389-1437), who was married to an illegitimate daughter of Guidantonio da Montefeltro. If this is true, then the dedication of the church to San Bernardino could be a reference to both Bernardinus of Siena and this Bernardino Ubaldini.
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