Urbino’s Fashion Night Out

An inside look at Urbino’s premier fashion show, the Sfilata Sotto Le Stelle.

The runway stretches into the distance down the rustic brick of Via Mazzini. A warm evening light creeps in from the arched entry at the foot of … Read More

Carved in Stone

The last sandstone sculptor in Sant’Ippolito keeps her city’s ancient traditions alive

Natalia Gasparucci is strolling the quiet streets of Sant’Ippolito, leading an informal tour of the stonework that decorates the city’s houses and ancient walls. She points to a … Read More

The “Other” Urbino

Community of immigrants, long citizens of Urbino, face an uncertain future

URBINO, Italy — Veli Ljatifovski looked out across Ponte Armellina, a housing development he has lived in for the last 20 years. He saw buildings spotted by mold from … Read More

The Alimentary Rule of Italian Shopping

Small grocers with fresh products survive in Italy.

URBINO, Italy - As a customer walks into the small, two-room grocery on Via Nicollo’ Pellipario asking for fresh peaches, shop owner Luigi Valentini greets her with a smile, steps from behind … Read More

Lost in Translation

Having American culture on your t-shirt seems pretty cool, whatever it means.

URBINO, Italy – Overheard in the classical Piazza della Repubblica are hundreds of Italian conversations. One young woman is seen wearing a t-shirt that says “Be Happy. It … Read More

Vespa: As Italian as Pizza and Spaghetti

Urbino Vespa rally draws hundreds to celebrate the iconic scooter.

URBINO, Italy – Sunday mornings in Urbino, a historic town in central Italy’s Le Marche region, are typically very quiet.

Most of the locally owned shops and cafés that line … Read More

From Farm to City Hall

Maurizio Gambini’s journey has taken him from the family farm to Urbino’s top job.

SCHIETE, Italy – “Maurizio Gambini, the mayor of Urbino, is surrounded by friends young and old in the Centro Socio Culturale waiting to kick off Palio … Read More

UNInCanto: Urbino In Song

A new tradition two years running sets the streets of Urbino to music.

Voices crowd the air of Urbino’s streets in the early morning, each carrying a greeting, a jest, or a warning. The city is alive and awake.

In … Read More

Man’s Best Friend, in Training

Vittorio Scalbi teaches dogs to hunt truffles, just for fun

“Attenti ai cani”—beware of the dogs—reads a sign on the narrow dirt road that leads to Varea le Coste, a bed-and-breakfast two kilometers outside Urbino, Italy. My companion and I … Read More

Looking for a New Place

Drinking ban prompting students and city to compromise.

URBINO, Italy - Hanging above the main steps of the Piazza della Repubblica, a bright electronic sign shows a bottle with a red circle and slash through it followed by this warning … Read More