Oddantonio da Montefeltro (1428 – 22 July 1444) was the first duke of Urbino in Italy.

Oddantonio succeeded his father Guidantonio

Guidantonio da Montefeltro

Guidantonio da Montefeltro was count of Urbino in Italy from 1403 until his death.In 1403, at the death of his father Antonio, Guidantonio inherited the family lands in the region of Italy called the Marche. Later he abandoned the Papal suzerainty and allied with King Ladislaus of Naples, who made...

 as count of Urbino. He was the half-brother of Federico da Montefeltro. The testamentary division of the county between Oddantonio and Federico is not known; nor is the relationship between the two. However, it has been suggested that Federico provided at least some financial support to his brother via his activity as condottiero.

On 25 April 1443, at the age of sixteen, the Pope made him Duke of Urbino

Urbino

Urbino is a walled city in the Marche region of Italy, south-west of Pesaro, a World Heritage Site notable for a remarkable historical legacy of independent Renaissance culture, especially under the patronage of Federico da Montefeltro, duke of Urbino from 1444 to 1482...

 as a reward for his support in the war against the Sforza in the Marche

Marche

The population density in the region is below the national average. In 2008, it was 161.5 inhabitants per km2, compared to the national figure of 198.8. It is highest in the province of Ancona , and lowest in the province of Macerata...

.

Oddantonio exhausted the treasury of the small state with his excessive life style (he is reported to have held extravagant parties, some lasting over 15 days), and consequently had to exert heavy taxes over the duchy. He also sought the support of their arch-enemies, the Malatesta

House of Malatesta

The House of Malatesta was an Italian family that ruled over Rimini from 1295 until 1500, as well as other lands and towns in Romagna.Malatesta da Verucchio The House of Malatesta was an Italian family that ruled over Rimini from 1295 until 1500, as well as (in different periods) other lands and...

, seemingly reaching a complete independence from them.

In the night between 21 and 22 July 1444 he was killed by conspirators in the Ducal Palace, together with his counsellors Manfredo dei Pio da Carpi and Tommaso di Guido dell'Agnello.

Federico succeeded him as Duke of Urbino. Questions have been raised about the possibility of his involvement in Oddantonio's assassination, though no definitive proof of any such involvement exists.

See also

• Flagellation of Christ (Piero della Francesca)
  Flagellation of Christ (Piero della Francesca)
  The Flagellation of Christ is a painting by Piero della Francesca in the Galleria Nazionale delle Marche in Urbino, Italy. Called by one writer an "enigmatic little painting," the composition is complex and unusual, and its iconography has been the subject of widely differing theories...