Gubbio

Introducing Gubbio

While most of Umbria feels soft and rounded by the millennia, Gubbio is angular, sober and imposing. Perched along the steep slopes of Monte Ingino, the Gothic buildings wend their way up the hill towards Umbria’s closest thing to an amusement park ride, its open-air funicular. During Christmas time, the side of the mountain becomes the world’s largest Christmas tree.

Gubbio is famous for its Eugubine Tablets, which date from 300 to 100 BC and constitute the best existing example of ancient Umbrian script. An important ally of the Roman Empire and a key stop on the Via Flaminia, the town declined during the Saracen invasions. In the 14th century it fell into the hands of the Montefeltro family of Urbino and was later incorporated into the Papal States.

Last updated: Feb 17, 2009