Gubbio Sights and Activities

Piazza Quaranta Martiri. In the middle of the piazza stretches the Giardino dei Quaranta Martiri (Garden of the 40 Martyrs), a memorial to those slain by the Nazis in reprisal for the assassination of two German officials. Across the piazza from the bus stop stands the Chiesa di San Francesco, which was completed in 1256 and is one of the places rumored to be the site where St. Francis experienced his conversion. The left-hand apse holds the Vita della Madonna, a partially destroyed, 15th-century fresco series by Ottaviano Nelli, Gubbio’s most famous painter. The frescoes are skillfully rendered and the 15th-century campanile rises gracefully outside. (Church open daily 7:15am-noon and 3:30-7:30pm. Free.) Via Matteotti runs from P. Quaranta Martiri, outside the city walls, to the Teatro Romano, built at the end of the first century BC. While restorations are a modern addition, a sense of power and stability still seems to emanate from the semi-circular stone tiers. Productions are staged in July and August. (Vle. del Teatro Romano. Tickets €15.) The nearby Antiquarium displays impressive Roman mosaics found in the city and preserved foundations beneath your feet.

Palazzo Dei Consoli. This white stone palace (1321-1330) was built for Gubbio’s high magistrate. Inside, the Museo Civico displays a collection of Eugubinian and Roman artifacts. In a room upstairs, the  Tavole Eugubine (Eugubine Tablets), are comparable to the Rosetta Stone for their linguistic significance. Five of these seven bronze tablets, dating from 300 to 100 BC, are showcased as rare proof of the ancient Umbrian language, as well as an Umbrian and Roman alliance against the Etruscans. The last two tablets are in Latin. An illiterate farmer discovered them in 1444 in an underground chamber of the Roman theater just outside the city walls; he was subsequently tricked into swapping them for a worthless piece of land. The texts spell out the social, religious, and political organization of early Umbria, and they describe how to read religious omens from animal livers. (P. Grande. ☎075 92 74 298. Open daily Apr.-Oct. 10am-1pm and 3-6pm; Nov. to mid-Mar. 10am-1pm and 2-5pm. €5, ages 7-25 €3, under 7 free.)

Duomo. The pink Gothic duomo, sitting up on a hill from P. Grande, was built in the 13th and 14th centuries on the site of a Romanesque church. The interior is simple, with a single pitched-roof nave. Notable are the 12th-century stained-glass windows, art by Perugino’s student Dono Doni, and Antonio Tatoti’s Adoration of the Magi. (Open daily Apr.-Sept. 9am-6pm; Oct.-Mar. 10am-5pm. Free.)

Monte Ingino. See the sights from a new perspective by hopping into the shaky cages of the  funivia, a standing chairlift, which, in six short minutes, climbs to an unparalleled view of Gubbio’s medieval rooftops and the Umbrian hills. Climb the hill behind the funivia ’s drop-off point to reach the Basilica and Monastery of Sant’Ubaldo, which houses the saint’s preserved body in a glass case above the altar. The stained glass at the entrance tells the story of his life; the three ceri, large wooden candles carried in the Corsa dei Ceri procession each May, are also on display. Each December, lights transform the entire hill into the world’s largest Christmas tree (documented in the Guinness Book of World Records). Follow the dirt trail behind the basilica up to the scaffolding where the star is placed atop the “tree,” and then continue up to an ancient but well-preserved tower for spectacular 360-degree vistas of the Umbrian mountains and valleys. (To reach the funivia, exit Pta. Romana to the left. From the uphill entrance to the basilica, bear left and continue upward on a dirt path to the top of the mountain. Chairlift open June M-Sa 9:30am-1:30pm and 2:30-7pm, Su 9am-7:30pm; July-Aug. daily 9am-8pm; Sept. M-Sa 9:30am-1:30pm and 2:30-7pm, Su 9:30am-1:30pm and 2:30-7:30pm; Mar. M-Sa 10am-1:30pm and 2:30-5:30pm, Su 9:30am-1:30pm and 2:30-6pm; Apr.-May M-Sa 10am-1:30pm and 2:30-6:30pm, Su 9:30am-1:30pm and 2:30-7pm; Oct. daily 10am-1:30pm and 2:30-6pm; Nov.-Feb. M-Tu and Th-Su 10am-1:30pm and 2:30-5pm. €5, round-trip €6. Cash only.)