What is Gubbio known for?

Millennial race held every 15 May, three teams carry wooden statues of Sant'Ubaldo, San Giorgio and Sant'Antonio Abate from Piazza Grande to the basilica on Monte Ingino. Seven bronze tablets of the 3rd-1st century BC, the longest text in the Umbrian language, found in 1444 and sold to the commune in 1456 for 40 florins. Gubbio is a Città della Ceramica for the gold and ruby lustreware perfected by Mastro Giorgio Andreoli in the early 16th century.

Gubbio is a comune in the province of Perugia, Umbria region of Italy, about 43 kilometers from Perugia.

Umbria · Perugia

Gubbio

Pre-Roman Ikuvium of the Umbri at the foot of Monte Ingino, where seven bronze tablets carry the longest text of the Umbrian language.

522m

Elevation

43 km / 27 mi

Nearest hub (Perugia)

30,479

Population

Apr–Oct

Best time to visit

Recognised as

Why come

Gubbio sits at 522 meters on the lower slope of Monte Ingino, the old town stacked in four parallel terraces against the mountain. The settlement was Ikuvium, one of the most important towns of the Umbri before Rome arrived. In 1444 a peasant woman named Presentina found seven bronze tablets in the area of the Roman theater and sold them to the commune in 1456 for 40 florins. The Tavole Iguvine carry the longest surviving text in the Umbrian language, a detailed description of the religious rites of the pre-Roman western world, and they are still in Gubbio, in the ground floor of the Palazzo dei Consoli. The palazzo itself was built between 1332 and 1349 by Angelo da Orvieto and Matteo Gattapone, Gothic vertical pilasters dividing the façade across the wide Piazza Grande. On 15 May each year the Corsa dei Ceri, a millennial race in which three teams carry wooden statues of Sant'Ubaldo, San Giorgio and Sant'Antonio Abate from the piazza up to the basilica on Monte Ingino, fills the town from dawn to dusk.

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Gallery

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Known for

Palazzo dei Consoli
Built 1332-1349 by Angelo da Orvieto and Matteo Gattapone, the Gothic civic palace on Piazza Grande holds the Tavole Iguvine and the civic museum.
Tavole Iguvine
Seven bronze tablets bearing the longest surviving text in the Umbrian language, found in 1444 near the Roman theater, displayed in the Palazzo dei Consoli.
Piazza Grande
Suspended civic square between Palazzo dei Consoli and Palazzo Pretorio, hanging on substructures against the slope of Monte Ingino.
Basilica di Sant'Ubaldo
On the summit of Monte Ingino at 908 meters, reached by cable car, holds the body of the patron saint and the three wooden Ceri after the May race.
Teatro Romano
First-century BC Roman theater in the archaeological area of Guastuglia, rusticated limestone arches of the lower order still standing.
Duomo di Gubbio
Thirteenth-century Gothic cathedral with single nave, on the upper terrace of the centro storico across from the Palazzo Ducale of Federico da Montefeltro.

When to visit

Best months · Apr–Oct

Best
Hot or crowded
Quiet
Mostly closed

April through June and September into October are the months for Gubbio. The slopes of Monte Ingino are walkable, the Cammino di San Francesco passes through, and the air at 522 meters holds the Apennine clarity. The Corsa dei Ceri on 15 May is the single most concentrated day in town; book months ahead. July and August touch the mid-thirties but the upper streets stay cool, and the cable car to the basilica runs early. October and November are the truffle season in the woods around Gubbio and Pietralunga, with the Mostra Mercato del Tartufo running in late October. December through March is quiet, with shorter hours at the museum, and the Christmas tree of light projected on Monte Ingino is officially the largest in the world.