“All that is Seen”: Ritual and Splendor at the Montefeltro Court in Urbino

“The dignity of the signore ¹ manifests itself in all that is seen” remarked the author of the Ordine et officij de la casa de lo Illustrissimo Signor Duca de Urbino (The Rules and Offices of the Court of the Duke of Urbino) (urb.lat.1248) (1482–9). ² In this text, the author, likely the maestro di casa or head servant, provides a generic manual for running a Renaissance casa or household, modeled on the Montefeltro court during the reign of Federico da Montefeltro (1422–82). Renaissance courts were centers of learning and humanist discourse, and sites for entertainment and conviviality. Rituals perceived as methods of institutional display emerged out of domestic practices conceived largely to suit the needs of and please the signore. The interests and personal preoccupations of Federico da Montefeltro affected life at the court on every level. While his love of music, intellectual conversation, and study influenced the decoration of the palace, his personal preoccupations and needs guided all of the rituals of life. Together all of these elements of court life also displayed the dual Renaissance virtues of magnificence and splendor.