The small hill town of Urbino, in the Marche, expe­ri­enced a great cul­tur­al flow­er­ing in the 15th cen­tu­ry, attract­ing artists and schol­ars from all over Italy and beyond, and influ­enc­ing cul­tur­al devel­op­ments else­where in Europe. Owing to its eco­nom­ic and cul­tur­al stag­na­tion from the 16th cen­tu­ry onwards, it has pre­served its Renais­sance appear­ance to a remark­able extent.