Federico da Montefeltro
The most famous member of the Montefeltro family, Federico da Montefeltro, ruled as Duke of Urbino from 1444 to 1482. A very successful condottiere, a skillful diplomat and an enthusiastic patron of art and literature, he took over in 1444 as the son of Guidantonio, after a conspiracy and the murder of the legitimate Oddantonio, hated for his "unbridled lust" and for the excessive taxation exercised during his seventeen months in office.