Gubbio

The ancient city of Gubbio bore the name Iguvium in the Roman period. Coins from the Umbrian period carry legends such as Ikvvini and Ikvvins, which correspond to the name of the inhabitants and confirm the identification with the town. These forms demonstrate continuity between the Umbrian and Roman phases of the city's history. In later centuries, the name underwent various corruptions, appearing as Egubium and Eugubium, while the modern name Gubbio represents a further development of these earlier forms. Passages in Caesar and Cicero have been interpreted as containing references to Iguvium, though sometimes in corrupted forms. The evolution of the city's name is reflected in documentary evidence, where forms such as Ugobbio, Iguvium, Eugubium, Egubio, Ugubio, Agobbio, and Gubbio appear over time. The attribution of the name Julia Iguvia in the Roman period has also been examined, though this alone is not considered sufficient to support broader historical claims about the city's status or origins. ==History==

Prehistory The oldest evidence of human habitation in the Gubbio valley dates back to the Middle Palaeolithic, but only during the Neolithic period (6000–3000 BCE) does the earliest evidence of relatively permanent settlements emerge. The summit of Monte Ingino was the focus of ritual activity. Iron Age Monte Asciano remained inhabited in the early Iron Age (1200–1000 BCE), a set of bronze tablets that together constitute the largest surviving text in the Umbrian language. According to Dorica Manconi, pre-Roman Ikuvium was located in a well-defined area in the vicinity of the present-day city. Roman period As Iguvium became a Roman city, it was noted by classical authors. Silius Italicus referred to it as a place marked by heavy mists, while Cicero also mentioned it. Its earliest historical records date to the period preceding the Social War, during which it obtained Roman citizenship, its inhabitants being enrolled in the Clustumina tribe, and the city becoming a municipium. Strabo listed it among the cities of Umbria, and Pliny mentioned the Iguvini in connection with a herbaceous oil sold along the Via Flaminia. Early Middle Ages Following the deposition of the last Western Roman emperor by Odoacer, Gubbio shared the fate of other Italian cities under the rule of the Heruli and subsequently the Ostrogoths. It was besieged by a general of Totila, then captured and destroyed. The city was later rebuilt with assistance provided by Narses. ==Geography==

Gubbio is located in an upland valley in the Apennine Mountains, in the northeastern part of the present-day region of Umbria. This particular part of Umbria is a transitional area, close to both Marche to the east and Tuscany to the west. As a result, Gubbio has historically had strong political and cultural ties to both of those regions. The Gubbio valley itself is arranged on a northwest-to-southeast axis. A steep limestone escarpment bounds the basin to the northeast. Unusually, streams flow through the Gubbio valley in two opposite directions, although both streams ultimately flow to the Tiber. Geology The Gubbio Basin is a graben filled with river and lake sediments. Drainage is to the northwest and southwest; the rest is mostly surrounded by "marly-arenaceous formations on the hills", while to the north is a steep escarpment. The surrounding mountains are primarily limestone and marl. In 2021, 5,384 people lived in rural dispersed dwellings not assigned to any named locality. At the time, the most populous locality was Gubbio proper (14,150). The following localities had no recorded permanent residents: San Benedetto Vecchio. == Economy ==

The surrounding territory is described as highly fertile, with particularly productive olive cultivation. The richness of the land and its agricultural output form a key element of the local economy. A mint existed in Gubbio from ancient times, with coins struck by the Iguvini when the city was under Etruscan rule. The mint continued to operate under the Feltreschi and the Della Rovere families. It remained active under Urban VIII, was briefly suspended under Benedict XIV, and continued until the pontificate of Pius VII. ==Transport==

The city is served by Fossato di Vico–Gubbio railway station located in Fossato di Vico; until 1945 it also operated the Central Apennine railway (Ferrovia Appenino Centrale abbreviation FAC) with a narrow gauge which departed from Arezzo and reached as far as Fossato di Vico and in Gubbio had his own railway station located in via Beniamino Ubaldi 2, now completely demolished. == Demographics ==

From 1861 to 1881, the population of Gubbio grew steadily from about 21,700 to just over 23,000. Growth accelerated in the early 20th century, reaching over 28,000 by 1911 and continuing to rise through the interwar period to more than 33,000 by 1936. After World War II, the population peaked at over 37,000 around 1951, then declined notably in the following decades, falling to just above 31,000 by the 1970s. From that point onward, the population remained relatively stable with minor fluctuations, hovering around the low 30,000s into the early 21st century before a slight decline by 2021. As of 2025, Gubbio has a population of 30,297, of whom 48.8% are male and 51.2% are female. Minors make up 13.3% of the population, and seniors make up 27.8%, compared to the Italian average of 14.9% and 24.7% respectively. == Religion ==

Cathedral The cathedral, dedicated to Saints Marianus and James, stands at the foot of Monte Ingino and was built in the 13th and 14th centuries over an earlier Romanesque church, remains of which are visible on the right side of the façade. The pointed-arch portal is surmounted by a circular window framed by a band of foliage and surrounded by the symbols of the Evangelists and the Mystic Lamb. The interior, predominantly Gothic in style, has a single nave in the form of a Latin cross, supported by ten large transverse pointed arches. The church contains paintings by 16th-century artists from Gubbio, including the Nucci family and Basili, as well as by Sinibaldi Ibi, Giuliano Presutti, and Dono Doni. A Baroque chapel in the middle of the right wall contains frescoes by Francesco Allegrini and a painting of the Birth of the Virgin by Gherardi. To the left of the high altar is the seat of the magistrates with painted imitation inlay by Benedetto Nucci. In the choir is the episcopal seat, carved around the mid-16th century. A late antique sarcophagus beneath the high altar contains the relics of Saints James and Marianus. Traces of 14th- and 15th-century frescoes remain on the walls, while the murals of the apse, triumphal arch, and left chapels were painted by Augusto Stoppoloni between 1916 and 1918. The episcopal palace stands near the cathedral. San Francesco of the church of S. Giovanni. The church of San Francesco stands in the lower part of Gubbio. It was built around 1255 within a large Franciscan complex erected on land belonging to the ancient Spadalonga family. The building has an ogival plan and an unfinished façade that retains a Gothic portal and a cornice of hanging arches surmounted by a small rose window. Its three apses have a polygonal form interrupted by single-light windows. The interior is divided into three naves supported by fourteen tall columns with octagonal bases. The ribbed vaults belong to an 18th-century transformation of the building. Although the side walls once covered with frescoes have been partly lost, the apses preserve works from the 13th to the 15th centuries. The left apse contains, in seventeen panels, the Stories of the Life of the Virgin, painted in the early 15th century by Ottaviano Nelli. In the upper part of the central apse is a fresco of Jesus enthroned with Saint Peter, Saint Paul, Saint Francis, and Saint Anthony, executed by a local follower of the Master of San Francesco in the second half of the 13th century. In the right apse, near the remains of the ancient fondaco, are 13th- and 14th-century frescoes: in the upper part two episodes from the life of Saint Francis, and below, the Redeemer flanked by the Evangelists within frames, together with frescoes of saints on the walls. Santa Maria Nuova The church of Santa Maria Nuova stands in the historic center of Gubbio. Built between 1270 and 1280, it has a simple stone façade with an asymmetrical trilobed portal. The interior, with a single nave, was heavily altered in the 17th century, when the wall paintings were covered with plaster. The church preserves the Madonna del Belvedere by Ottaviano Nelli, a 15th-century image that was the object of popular veneration and was enclosed within an aedicule. Frescoes rediscovered on the counter-façade include an Annunciation, a Crucifixion, saints, and two Maestà images. Along the right wall is a fresco depicting the Crucified Christ, the Blessing Christ, and the Madonna enthroned with Child. The church also contains wooden furnishings, including a 16th-century gilded altar from the church of Sant'Agostino, and a painted funerary chest with Saints James and Marianus by the Expressionist Master of Santa Chiara, dating to the 14th century, which held the body of Saint Ubald. Basilica of Sant'Ubaldo The Basilica of Sant'Ubaldo stands on the summit of the steep Monte Ingino, at whose foot the city extends. It houses the bronze urn containing the body of the patron saint Ubald. The basilica is also the finishing point of the Corsa dei Ceri. Built on earlier medieval structures, it was enlarged from the beginning of the 16th century, when the convent and cloister were constructed. The exterior is plain, while the interior has five aisles and a semicircular apse. From the cloister, which contains 16th-century frescoes attributed to Pier Angelo Basili with scenes from the life of Saint Ubald, one enters the church, whose interior also contains frescoes dating from the 16th to the 18th centuries. The Basilica preserves the Ceri of Gubbio. Other religious buildings • San Giovanni Battista, Gubbio: 13th-century church with one nave only with four transversal arches supporting the pitched roof, a model for later Gubbio churches. • San Domenico, once known as San Martino • ''Sant'Agostino'' • Santa Croce della Foce ==Culture==

Palazzo dei Consoli Palazzo dei Consoli was built between 1332 and 1349 to a design by , with the contribution of . Rectangular in plan, it has a Gothic vertical emphasis created by pilasters dividing the façade into three sections. Several academies contributed to the intellectual life of Gubbio, including the Accademia degli Oziosi, the Accademia dei Sonnacchiosi, and the Accademia degli Anziosi. == Events ==

The Festa dei Ceri takes place in Gubbio every year on 15 May, on the eve of the feast of the city's patron, Saint Ubald, who died in 1160. The celebration centers on the carrying of the Ceri from the church of Santa Maria Nuova through the historic center to the Basilica of Sant'Ubaldo on Mount Ingino. ==Sport==

A.S. Gubbio 1910 football club play in Serie C at the Pietro Barbetti Stadium. ==Twin towns – Sister cities==

Gubbio is twinned with: == Notable people ==

Among writers and scholars from Gubbio are Stefano Eugubino, who flourished at the time of Justin and wrote a Chronicon ab origine mundi usque ad Justinum imperatorem; Gabrielli Fazio, a philosopher of the 12th century; Marino di Rosso, a historian active shortly after 1300; , who reportedly studied under Dante Alighieri; Armanno Armanni, author of the Fiorita, a well-known 14th-century linguistic text; and Vittoria Accoramboni, born in 1557, a poet also noted for her beauty and the misfortunes of her life. Military figures include Bosone Raffaelli, captain of Gubbio in 1263 and Ghibelline podestà of Arezzo in 1266; Bino di Pietro Gabrielli, podestà of Florence in 1306 and commander of Florentine forces during the siege of Pistoia; and Bosone II Raffaelli, a prominent figure in central Italy in the early 14th century, podestà of Arezzo in 1316 and 1317, who became acquainted with Dante Alighieri and later hosted him in Gubbio. Also notable are Federico da Montefeltro, Duke of Urbino, born in Gubbio in 1422, as well as Carlo Gabrielli and Cesare Bentivogli. In the arts, Giovanni da Gubbio built the cathedral of San Rufino in Assisi in 1140. designed several of the principal monuments of Gubbio. Painters associated with the city include Guido di Palmeruccio, Martino di Nello, Nucci, and Damiani. ==See also==