First day in Le Marche

Who can resist a cute kitten picture? The agriturismo where we're staying had six kittens in two litters about five weeks ago, and the kittens are a riot to watch.
Today we drove to the walled hill-town of Urbino and visited the Duke’s palace. The area adjacent to the walls was crazy busy and it took us a few tries to find the parking garage. We almost gave up but were glad we didn’t.

The palace is huge but it felt empty and cleaned out. The picture is of the courtyard. The highlight of the visit was the Duke’s study which is covered with inlaid wood. We tried to take pictures but unfortunately it was too dark [see here, here, and here for some pictures of the paneling]. There are also several sets of doors with wood inlay. I’m a fan of Rafael and enjoyed a painting of his on display. Rafael is from Urbino but did most of his work in Rome.