Historical story

The “Remade” Nose of Federico II da Montefeltro

Federico II da Montefeltro portrayed by Piero della Francesca

What you see in the photo attached to the post is the very famous portrait that Piero della Francesca made to Frederick II of Montefeltro (1422-1482), Duke of Urbino, and is also one of the most representative paintings of our Renaissance.

As can be seen, the nobleman shows the left profile , in this canvas and in almost all of the others he commissioned, since, having remained one-eyed blind after being injured in a carousel on horseback, in this way he was able to expose only the "good" side of him to those who looked at him.

Furthermore, as it is easy to notice at a first and quick glance, Federico's face with marked features and strong-willed air is surmounted by a nose not only bulky and protruding, but also with a bizarre shape, which almost seems "cut" at the junction; well, it seems that this was the result of a ' operation of plastic surgery ante litteram through which the duke's nose was expertly "filed", as per the express request of the interested party.

Not for aesthetic reasons, however, but for practical reasons:thanks to the intervention, in fact, Federico could enjoy a wider vision, almost as if he had still had the use of the other eye.