The earliest traces of human settlement in the Gubbio valley date back to the Middle Palaeolithic. In the Neolithic period (6000–3000 BC), stable settlements appeared with the introduction of agriculture and animal husbandry.
In the San Marco area, east of Gubbio, ritual pits containing almost intact ceramic vessels have been discovered.
During the Bronze Age, settlements spread across the surrounding hills, particularly around Monte Ingino and Monte Ansciano.
Before Roman domination, Gubbio was known as Ikuvium (or Iguvium), one of the most important Umbrian city-states and the foremost religious centre of the Umbrian people.
The great treasure of this era is the Eugubine Tablets, seven bronze tablets discovered in 1444 near the Roman Theatre.
They represent the most important ritual text of ancient Italy, written in the Umbrian language using Etruscan and Latin characters.
The tablets describe: religious ceremonies and purification rites, the organisation of the city-state, the Umbrian pantheon, priestly brotherhoods and the geography of ancient Ikuvium.
In 295 BC, after remaining neutral in the war between Rome and the Samnites concluded at the Battle of Sentino, Ikuvium entered into alliance with Rome.
In 166 BC, Rome entrusted the Eugubine magistrates with custody of a royal prisoner: Gentius, King of the Illyrians, who spent his final years here and, according to tradition, was buried in the Mausoleum still visible near the Roman Theatre.
In 89 BC, Gubbio obtained Roman citizenship and was elevated to Municipium. The city was enriched with imposing buildings:
- The Roman Theatre (~7,000 seats) — larger than that of Pompeii
- Thermal baths and residential complexes
- The Temple of Guastaglia
- Villas adorned with fine mosaics
- A thriving ceramics district
The city then passed under Church control through the donations of Pepin the Short and Charlemagne.
Around the year 1000, Gubbio experienced an extraordinary renaissance, organising itself as a Free Commune. In 1163 it received imperial privileges from Frederick I Barbarossa.
Bishop of Gubbio from 1128, canonised in 1192. In 1151, through his intervention — considered miraculous — Gubbio won a fierce battle against a coalition of eleven enemy cities led by Perugia.
- Strong economic growth (ceramics, textiles, wrought iron)
- Construction of Palazzo dei Consoli (1332–1349) and Piazza Grande
- Development of agriculture in the hill areas
According to legend, a fierce wolf was terrorising the city. Francis met it near the Church of the Vittorina and, after making the sign of the cross, tamed it. The wolf then lived peacefully with the townspeople for two years until it died of old age.
In 1384, Gubbio passed under the control of Antonio di Montefeltro, Count and Lord of Urbino. The Dukes of Urbino transformed Gubbio into a flourishing Renaissance centre.
Built the Ducal Palace (1470), created the Eugubine Studiolo (now at the Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York) and brought the city to its cultural and artistic peak.
In 1508 the Della Rovere family took power on the death of Guidobaldo Montefeltro and governed until 1631, maintaining Gubbio as a centre of craftsmanship and culture.
In 1631, with the extinction of the Della Rovere dynasty, Gubbio returned to the direct control of the Papal State, beginning a long period of political and economic decline.
In 1860, with the Unification of Italy, Gubbio was annexed to the Kingdom of Italy and incorporated into the province of Perugia.
On 22 June 1944, a tragic event struck the city: retreating Nazi troops shot 40 civilians in the square (today called Piazza Quaranta Martiri) in reprisal against the partisan resistance.
In 1950, the "Associazione Maggio Eugubino" was founded to preserve and promote local traditions. From the 1960s, Gubbio became a lively tourist destination.
1973: The Three Ceri become the official symbol of the Umbria Region. 2013: UNESCO inscription (Network of Great Processions of Intangible Bearers).
The Festa dei Ceri is one of the oldest folk festivals in Italy, celebrated every 15 May since 1160, the year of the death of Sant'Ubaldo. It is not a historical re-enactment but a living tradition handed down uninterruptedly for over 860 years.
Wooden structures approximately 4 metres tall, composed of two superimposed octagonal prisms, weighing about 400 kg each:
- 🟡 Sant'Ubaldo — Yellow — Masons and stonecutters
- 🔵 San Giorgio — Blue — Traders and artisans
- ⚫ Sant'Antonio Abate — Black — Farmers, landowners and students
- 10:00 AM – Distribution of flower bouquets to the torchbearers
- 11:30 AM – Investiture of the First Captain in Piazza Grande
- 12:00 PM – Raising of the Ceri
- 6:00 PM – The Bishop blesses the ceraioli in articulo mortis
- The Race: ~4,300 metres up to the Basilica of Sant'Ubaldo
- Fixed order: Sant'Ubaldo, San Giorgio, Sant'Antonio
- Overtaking is strictly forbidden
"Who won? Nobody won — in fact, Gubbio won." The goal is not to finish first, but to run at full speed while keeping the Cero upright.
Every citizen of Gubbio can become a ceraiolo after a long apprenticeship beginning in childhood with the Ceri Piccoli (2 June) and the Ceri Mezzani (Sunday following the Festival). The choice of Cero is traditionally linked to family and trade, passed down from father to son.
- Palazzo dei Consoli (1332–1349) — Gothic masterpiece, houses the Eugubine Tablets
- Piazza Grande — Spectacular suspended square, a feat of medieval engineering
- Ducal Palace (1470) — Renaissance masterpiece by Federico da Montefeltro
- Cathedral — Gothic church with ten pointed arches
- Roman Theatre — One of the largest in the Empire, still used in summer
- Basilica of Sant'Ubaldo — On Monte Ingino, houses the remains of the patron saint and the Ceri
- Palazzo del Bargello — Home of the famous "Fontana dei Matti" (Fountain of the Mad)
Gubbio is world-famous for its lustre-ware ceramics, a Renaissance technique using metallic oxides to create golden and ruby-red reflections. Master Giorgio Andreoli (1465–1553) made it renowned throughout Europe.
- Cathedral of Saints Mariano and Giacomo (13th–14th c.) — The main church of the diocese
- Church of San Francesco (13th c.) — With frescoes by Ottaviano Nelli
- Church of San Francesco della Pace — Where the wolf is said to have lived
- Church of San Domenico (13th c.) — Centre of the Procession of the Dead Christ
- Church of the Vittorina — Where Saint Francis met the wolf (~1220)
- Palazzo del Bargello — Seat of the Captain of the People, with a permanent crossbow exhibition
- Bishop's Palace (18th c.) — With a beautiful arcaded courtyard
- Logge dei Tiratori di Lana — 14th-century portico, the first pre-industrial workshop
Historic crossbow contest between Gubbio and Sansepolcro, held uninterruptedly since the 15th century. Over 400 participants in medieval costumes parade through Piazza Grande.
After the Festa dei Ceri, the most significant event in the city. A procession with polyphonic chanting of the Miserere and burning bonfires along the streets.
Since 2015, the most important Italian cultural event dedicated to the Middle Ages. Gold Medal of the Presidency of the Republic for two consecutive years. Over 100 free events in five days.
Since 1981, recognised by the Guinness World Records in 1991. Height: over 750 m. Width: 450 m. Over 700 LED lights. Powered entirely by renewable energy.
The Bottaccione Gorge is world-famous in the scientific community for the discovery of the iridium layer that marks the boundary between the Cretaceous and Palaeogene periods (approximately 66 million years ago).
Professor Luis Alvarez and his son Walter discovered here that the mass extinction of the dinosaurs was caused by a meteorite impact. This thin layer of iridium in the rock is visible to all visitors.
The gorge also offers spectacular scenery with vertical rock walls, a Byzantine aqueduct and the ruins of a Lombard fortress.