Perugia | Terni | Assisi | Gubbio | Foligno | Spoleto | Orvieto | Amelia | Todi | Trasimeno | Norcia-Cascia | C. Castello
 Versione Italiana |
Historical outline of Gubbio Evidence that the austerely beautiful town of Gubbio dates back to prehistoric times can be found in the nearby walls of an ancient settlement knwn as `Igubium', and further proof is provided by the seven bronze Eugubine Tablets bearing Etruscan and Latin inscriptions, said to have been discovered by a shepherd in 1444 and displayed today in the Museo Civico. With the building of the Via Flaminia in 220 BC, it became an important Roman colony, on a direct line between Rome and Ravenna, and supported Rome in its fight against Hannibal. Gubbio was destroyed by the Goth Totila in the sixth century and rebuilt on a better defended site further up the slopes of Monte Ingino. It managed to escape a Longobard invasion and even to achieve independence and considerable influence, sending 1000 knights on the first crusade at the end of the eleventh century; however, it eventually succumbed to the forces of Frederick Barbarossa - though Bishop Ubaldo (who became its patron saint) persuaded the emperor to spare the town from destruction. Having passed into the hands of the Church, Gubbio prospered throughout the early Middle Ages, becoming a major centre for ceramics and establishing the first truly Umbrian school of painting. But it hated to be governed from outside and rebelled against the Church's iron hand, staging a successful uprising in favour of one of the few morally and artistically enlightened rulers of his day, the Duke of Montefeltro of Urbino. In 1631 his successor Francesco Maria II returned the city to the Church, which incorporated it into the Marche and this time held on to it for more than two centuries. In 1860 it was returned to Umbria. What to see at Gubbio - Cathedral of Sant'Ubaldo - San Francesco - San Domenico - Sant'Agostino - Mausoleum Santa Maria Nuova - San Pietro - San Giovanni - Birthplace of Sant'Ubaldo (since 1962 the Centre for Umbrian Studies) - Loggia dei Tiratori - Palazzo Pretorio - Palazzo dei Consoli, housing the Museo Civico and Pinacoteca - Palazzo Bargello e Porte della Morte - Fontana dei Matti - Palazzo del Capitano del Popolo - Palazzo Ducale - Roman Amphitheatre - Basilica of Sant'Ubaldo Feasts and festivals in Gubbio - 15 May: Corsa dei Ceri - 16 May: Festival of Sant'Ubaldo; procession honouring the dead Christ - Last Sunday in May: Palio della balestra - June: Car rally from Gubbio up to Madonna della Cima - July/August: Season of events in Roman amphitheatre including `Umbriafiction' - December: Erection of Christmas tree (largest in the world) on Monte Ingino How to Get There By car - Autostrada Adriatica A14, Fano exit - Autostrada del Sole A1, Valdichiana or Orte exit - Superstrada E45 Cesena-Perugia, Gubbio/Umbertide exit - SS Val d'Esino from Ancona, follow Rome-Gubbio signs By train - Ancona-Rome line to Vico-Gubbio; - Bus service to Gubbio Florence-Foligno line to Perugia; bus service to Gubbio By air - International flights to Rome, Florence or Rimini - Internal flights to Perugia. |
|
Perugia | Terni | Assisi | Gubbio | Foligno | Spoleto | Orvieto | Amelia | Todi | Trasimeno | Norcia-Cascia | C. Castello
|