Territory and Events

The city of Gubbio with its large territory is located in the north-eastern part of Umbria, between Tuscany and the Marches.

A predominantly mountainous area bordered to the east by the Apennine chain and to the west by the Tiber valley, it is rich in natural beauties and art treasures where history, culture and landscape coexist in a harmonious symbiosis.

Next to historical centers of extraordinary beauty and charm that preserve excellent testimonies of the medieval era, it offers a nature with uncontaminated environments and artistic craft productions that bear witness to the centuries-old mastery of a consolidated skill.

Gubbio is a center of 35,000 inhabitants, with historical attractions that date back to various periods. The Palazzo dei Consoli of the fourteenth century houses the largest collection of artifacts from the Roman era of Umbria.

Gubbio houses architectural masterpieces that symbolize and recall the power of this medieval city-state.

Historical background

Traces of prehistoric settlements in the Eugubean territory have been documented since the Middle Paleolithic. Recent archaeological campaigns have led to the identification of sites of the Bronze Age, very close to the city.

Gubbio was an important center of the Umbrians, as evidenced by the Eugubine Tablets (III-I century BC), the most remarkable epigraphic relic of pre-Roman Italy. These are seven bronze plates that contain ritual prescriptions for particular ceremonies and also give indications on the order of the city-state Igigina.

Gubbio made an alliance with Rome since the third century. B.C. it became flourishing in the early days of the Empire, as evidenced by numerous archaeological remains, including those of the Roman Theater, still used for summer shows.
During the eleventh century Gubbio passed to its own municipal self-government. Both Barbarossa (1163) and Henry VI (1191) recognized the vast majority of jurisdictions and privileges of the Eugubino consuls.

Gubbio reached a large number of inhabitants, developed the arts (especially that of wool), were built the new walls and the impressive municipal buildings.

The domination of the Counts and Dukes of Urbino gave rise to a period of relative civil and artistic prosperity, especially under the rule of Federico di Montefeltro. With Federico began the construction in Renaissance forms of the Palazzo Ducale. The Eugubini remained loyal to the lords of Urbino even during the brief dominations of Valentino (1502) and Lorenzo dei Medici (1516-1519).

Later Gubbio passed to the State of the Church and in 1860, shortly after the annexation to the Kingdom of Italy, Gubbio was aggregated to Umbria.

Events of the Territory