Museo Diocesano Albani

Why it matters

The Museo Diocesano Albani occupies the episcopal palace beside Urbino Cathedral. It preserves sacred art associated with the city's churches and parishes, including objects connected to the Albani family. Giovanni Francesco Albani, later Pope Clement XI, was born in Urbino and served as pope from 1700 to 1721.

What to notice

The collection includes sacred paintings and furnishings from the thirteenth century onward. A documented item connected to Clement XI's patronage is the Istruzione per il Viaggio of 1703. The nearby cathedral preserves works commissioned for its Chapel of the Immaculate Conception, including Carlo Maratta's Assunzione della Vergine, dated 1707, and Carlo Cignani's Natività della Vergine, dated 1709.

Context and history

The episcopal palace stands beside Urbino Cathedral, rebuilt by Francesco di Giorgio Martini. The diocesan museum was established to preserve and present objects from the cathedral and parishes. Its name recalls the Albani family and the patronage of Clement XI in the eighteenth century.