The city of stone
At the foot of Monte Ingino, in north eastern Umbria, Gubbio is one of the best preserved medieval cities in Italy, entirely built of grey limestone, with steep, parallel streets climbing up the slope, linked by stairways and arches, houses with the "door of the dead", a narrow walled-up door next to the main one, and Gothic palaces. Its austere and fascinating atmosphere has made it a favourite set for films and television series, such as "Don Matteo". Gubbio was an important centre of the ancient Umbrian people, and it preserves the Iguvine Tablets, seven bronze tablets of the third to first century BC, inscribed in the Umbrian language with Etruscan and Latin letters, with rituals and prayers, one of the most important documents of ancient Italic languages.
The tablets are kept in the Palazzo dei Consoli, the symbol of the city, a majestic Gothic palace built between 1332 and 1349, perhaps by Angelo da Orvieto, with a tall bell tower and a loggia, which stands, together with the Palazzo Pretorio, on the Piazza Grande, a huge "hanging square" built on large arches above the slope, with a breathtaking view over the roofs of the city and the valley. The palace houses the civic museum, with archaeological finds, paintings and the great hall. A spectacular cable car, with small open cages for two people, climbs from the city to the top of Monte Ingino and the Basilica of Sant'Ubaldo, which preserves the body of the patron saint and the three "ceri" of the famous festival. Gubbio is also linked to the legend of Saint Francis and the wolf, which the saint tamed.
Tip: take the cable car, a unique experience; in the evening, the Piazza Grande offers a magical view of the illuminated city.
Where it is
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