As we head for Apecchio, we are guided by a focal point, a polar star our eyes are unavoidably led to fix: it is the Ubaldini Palace, the most remarkable memory of the great family to whose story the town is tied: the Ubaldinis, and especially their della Carda branch. The project of the building is dated 1477 and bears the signature of Francesco di Giorgio Martini, an architect who left in Montefeltro many proofs of his genius. Though partly destroyed along with the rest of Apecchio by a terrible earthquake, it still keeps original parts which let one imagine its splendour, fitting the residence of the members of this noble dynasty, shown first of all by the portico at the entrance which is geometrically perfect, as imposed by the renaissance rules, and is marked by eight sandstone columns with classical Ionic capitals on top.
They lead our sight up to the elegant frames of the windows at the first floor, which nowadays hosts the City Hall. On the right of the entrance, on three great panels is reproduced Paolo Uccello’s masterpiece, the Battle of St. Romano, a work that helps us understand how important the Ubaldinis were in the history of Renaissance. The central section depicts an episode sad for the family: the unsaddling of Bernardino della Carda, Earl of Apecchio and a soldier of fortune, while he led the Siena army against the Florentine. At the centre of the inner court, a little hatch marks the access to the ancient “neviera”, where snow was amassed to keep food into the caves of Palace, which are still the very wide ones designed by Martini. They hosted the stables, the kitchen and the wine cellar. Two wine presses were found here, used to produce the wine served during cheerful banquets. Another disturbing finding completed the story of these caves: human bones were dug showing that, if provoked, the Ubaldinis did not hesitate to incarcerate their enemies, often with no hope for a release.
Apecchio