We have come to Gubbio to watch the Corso dei Ceri, a festival which is held every year on May 15th. 3 teams run through the town carrying a statue of their saint mounted on a wooden octagonal prism. The statue is 4 metres tall and weighs 280 kilograms…and Gubbio is built on the side of a very steep hill.
That is tomorrow and we came a day early to see Gubbio. It has obviously been a very wealthy town at some point. Many of the beautiful houses date from the 14th and 15th centuries and the town has been very well preserved. It is also a thriving and exciting modern town, with sophisticated shops, restaurants and bars.
It has a Roman amphitheatre which is used for concerts in summer.
The town has several impressive entrances like this one.
Of course there are spectacular ancient churches.
The magnificent Palazzo dei Consoli sits in an excellent position high in the town.
The piazza in front offers wonderful views over the Umbrian countryside.
There are banners hanging from almost every window in town, supporting the favourite team.
We saw teams of children practising to be Ceri carriers.
Crowds gathered in front of the Palazzo dei Consoli from 6.00pm to watch the bell ringing.
We had no idea what to expect. Have a look at the bell tower.
At 7.00pm a small group of men appeared in the tower and proceeded to leap onto the bell and push it until it did a complete turn.
A rope was then strung across the bell and it was pushed backwards and forwards.
This went on for some time, much to the delight of the audience. Then they jumped on it again to slow it down and bring it back to the original position.
I don’t know about you, but I think that looks a bit dangerous.
After dinner we walked through the town.
There were celebrations going on everywhere, with music and dancing in the streets.
While this serious fellow looked on.
Then it was back to the hotel to have a good sleep. I believe we will be woken very early tomorrow morning by bells and drumming to open the celebrations.
Our hotel room is quite lovely.
Have a look at the amazing ceiling.
And there is an angel watching over us.
I think tomorrow is going to be very exciting. I hope the day is fine and sunny and I get lots of good photos to share with you.
You have some terrific photographs.
Ranu
By: ranu802 on May 14, 2013
at 9:44 pm
It is an amazing place.
By: Debra Kolkka on May 15, 2013
at 4:19 am
Lovely setup for tomorrow’s festivities! Those bell ringers aren’t spring chickens as much as they are jumping on and off that bell. More power to them!
By: Karen Overton on May 14, 2013
at 9:53 pm
That bell was huge and they were very high off the ground. I’m glad it was them up there.
By: Debra Kolkka on May 15, 2013
at 4:20 am
You certainly do get around, Debra!!! I love the dancing in the street–and your amazing hotel ceiling. Have a wonderful time tomorrow!
By: jann on May 14, 2013
at 10:03 pm
As promised, the drumming started at 5.00am this morning (15th) There are bells ringing and drumming bands marching through the streets. It looks like being a great day.
By: Debra Kolkka on May 15, 2013
at 4:22 am
Sounds like an exciting event in a very lovely town!
Sara and I have arrived safely in Ecuador with out two dogs and are searching for permanent housing here in Cuenca. I’m trying to return to a more regular blogging schedule now that we’ve here.
Hugs,
Kathy
By: Kathryn McCullough on May 14, 2013
at 10:24 pm
How exciting for you to be in Ecuador. I look forward to seeing more of your new life.
By: Debra Kolkka on May 15, 2013
at 4:23 am
Such a lovely experience. I visited Gubbio in May when I was attending school in Castelraimondo but only for an afternoon. Yes It is gorgeous
By: aussiegirl0905 on May 14, 2013
at 11:03 pm
We visited once before and really liked it, so we are glad to be back for this exciting event.
By: Debra Kolkka on May 15, 2013
at 4:24 am
I was at theCorso dei Ceri a couple of years ago. An exciting day to be a part of. Enjoy and hope to see you in October.
By: Jan Fabretti on May 14, 2013
at 11:51 pm
The 15th May has started off with drumming and bell ringing and so far we have a fine day. It is going to be fun.
By: Debra Kolkka on May 15, 2013
at 4:25 am
What a wonderful experience Deb, it all looks so beautiful. I would love the music and dancing in the streets, in spite of the serious bloke rolling his eyes. Just looking at the bell ringers was stomache turning – I wonder if they have a union representative!
By: Jan on May 15, 2013
at 12:51 am
I think most of what happens in Italy would be shut down in Australia.
By: Debra Kolkka on May 15, 2013
at 4:26 am
Ha! You’re probably right there!
By: Catherine on May 17, 2013
at 6:17 am
We intend to visit the area during the last week of May and now we are totally convinced. Thank you, Debra!
By: mulino dominillo on May 15, 2013
at 5:20 am
There is a crossbow competition here the last Sunday in May, which looks amazing. Perhaps you could be here for that.
By: Debra Kolkka on May 15, 2013
at 7:36 pm
Debra!!!! You’re just up the road! Have a great day and I’ll email you right now!! xx
By: janinevasta on May 15, 2013
at 6:03 am
You need to come to Gubbio in the next few days, there are lots more things happening here.
By: Debra Kolkka on May 15, 2013
at 7:42 pm
Enjoy today – trust the promised rain will hold back!
By: Francis on May 15, 2013
at 7:05 am
There were a few drops this evening, but it was a great day.
By: Debra Kolkka on May 15, 2013
at 7:45 pm
I’ve told my wife on more than one occasion I would want to spend some time in Umbria … after all, charm and fewer tourists.
By: aFrankAngle on May 15, 2013
at 10:23 am
You wouldn’t say there were fewer tourists if you had been in Gubbio today.
By: Debra Kolkka on May 15, 2013
at 7:50 pm
Oh boy … the hopeful bubble just burst.
By: aFrankAngle on May 15, 2013
at 8:20 pm
Gubbio is on our list and having seen your photos I am even more keen to go. Umbria is so very beautiful – we are spending 3 months here, based in Spello. My blog is crammed with photos and memories of this wonderful experience.
By: maryshoobridge on May 15, 2013
at 11:55 am
I would love to visit Spello. We have driven past it and it looks great. I have signed up for your blog.
By: Debra Kolkka on May 15, 2013
at 7:52 pm
We loved Gubbio when we stayed there for a few nights. Lovely town, friendly people, some great restaurants. We stayed at Hotel Bosone and found it to be very nice.
By: chestercoextbutterfly on May 15, 2013
at 12:56 pm
We are staying at the Hotel Bosone. It’s great and in an excellent position for the Corso dei Ceri.
By: Debra Kolkka on May 15, 2013
at 7:53 pm
Are you going to ride the funivia up the mountain?
We were there when it was warm enough in the evening to sit on the steps beside the hotel where the little cafe brings out step cushions and you can have drinks on the steps. We had a great time!
By: chestercoextbutterfly on May 15, 2013
at 9:19 pm
We rode to the top of Gubbio yesterday, that is not for the feint hearted! We had lunch at the restaurant yesterday and it was excellent.
By: Debra Kolkka on May 16, 2013
at 5:50 am
My sister Trish visited Gubbio last year and raved about it, now we know what she was excited about. It looks fab and we will put it on our “to do” list. Hope you enjoyed the festival. Cheers
By: Jim & Kerry on May 15, 2013
at 3:54 pm
You have to come here. I will give you a list of the events happening here in the next few months.
By: Debra Kolkka on May 15, 2013
at 7:54 pm
Gubbio looks fascinating. I love being in town when its festa time! The Italians certainly know how to celebrate!
By: jenny@atasteoftravel on May 16, 2013
at 6:40 am
Gubbio really is gorgeous and the Ceri race is spectacular…look out for the next post.
By: Debra Kolkka on May 16, 2013
at 12:02 pm
These are interesting photos in themselves, I can’t wait to see what you’ll take tomorrow!
By: Lorraine @ Not Quite Nigella on May 16, 2013
at 1:45 pm
What a beautiful day for you. And hope you had a restful night in your suite. The bell ringers look quite crazy and I loved the dancing in the street shot!
By: Catherine on May 17, 2013
at 6:15 am
What an absolutely beautiful town, Debra. I love those banners, and your pics of the bell are brilliant. Your hotel room is exquisite, and having an angel watching over you must have made you sleep very peacefully indeed. 🙂
By: adinparadise on May 18, 2013
at 1:07 pm
Gubbio is a wonderful town. It has been beautifully preserved and you could easily spend several days there discovering its delights
By: Debra Kolkka on May 18, 2013
at 7:05 pm
I can see I am going to have to read your blog backwards, as I enjoyed the race one so much and then thought but I want more of Gubbio and here it is. Gosh the energy and the excitement all building up – you have captured it all so well in your photo story and I love them jumping on the bell and the little angel watching over your rest, much nicer than a large spider hanging up there !
By: Joanna on May 20, 2013
at 6:17 pm
I have lots more photos of Gubbio, which will turn up later on. The meals we ate there were particularly good. I like Gubbio a lot.
By: Debra Kolkka on May 21, 2013
at 4:54 am