Festival Friday is back! Today we would like to share with you a photo story of one of the best festivals we’ve been to; la Festa dei Ceri di Gubbio, a beautiful town in Central Italy.
Imagine one of those picturesque Italian villages, cobbled streets and winding roads on a hillside. Green hills and pastures, cypress-lined roads and a church on top of a hill. Throw into the mix a street festival unlike any other, a show of skill and precision, the culmination of years of planning and practise. And, of course, copious amounts of wine and merriment. Sounds great, right?
A view of Gubbio and St Ubaldo Church on top of the hill
Ceri di Gubbio – what’s that about?
La Festa dei Ceri takes place in Gubbio, every year on May 15th, the day of Gubbio’s patron, St Ubaldo. The ceri are three octagonal-shaped wooden structures, each of them dedicated to a different saint. Teams of young men, dubbed ceraioli, carry the structures on their shoulders. Citizens and ceraioli don a uniform for the day; white trousers, a red kerchief and sash, shirts of different colours, depending on the cero they support. Yellow is St Ubaldo’s colour, blue is St George’s and black is St Anthony’s.
A cero surrounded by a colourful crowd
The celebration begins with the alzata, the moment in which the ceri are raised from horizontal to vertical position. A spectacular feat, considering that the ceri are raised by hand, despite being 200 years old and weighing more than 400 kilos.
We watched the event in the public square, surrounded by thousands of locals and supporters. The captain of each team threw a big terracotta jug into the floor, smashing it into pieces.
Passing the jug in the crowd
Then, like giants waking from a year’s slumber, the ceri were raised. The sequence of movements was precisely calculated; a minor mistake could cause irreparable damage. When the ceri were finally up, the crowd erupted with cheers.
The alzata: raising the ceri
After a morning parade, and a few hours of post-lunch drowsiness, it was time for the Corsa dei Ceri. The teams of ceraioli, ceri on their shoulders, ran from Gubbio’s main square all the way to the church of St Ubaldo, overlooking the city on top of a hill.
It was a race that wasn’t a race at the same time: the teams ran at top speed through narrow alleyways and hairpin bends, one switchback after another; but the ceri weren’t competing against one another. The order of arrival is set; the first cero to enter the church is always St Ubaldo, followed by the blue banners of St George and St Anthony in black.
Running all the way to the top
The tradition dates back to the XII century, when Ubaldo was the Bishop of Gubbio. Every year, carrying the ceri up Mount Ingino, the citizens of Gubbio repeat the pilgrimage undertaken for the first time on May 15th, 1160, when they climbed to the Church on top of the mountain carrying candles, to be close to their Bishop in the moment of his death.
Ceri in Italian means ‘candles’; nobody knows when they were replaced with octagonal wooden pillars. After the bishop became a Saint, no year has gone past in Gubbio without ceri. Women carried them in wartime; men carried them in the trenches of World War I and the battlefields of Libya. Since 1909, there is even a ceri celebration in Pennsylvania, started by immigrants from Gubbio who brought with them the pride for their traditions and a bond with the motherland.
Waving hands, waiting for the ceri
Ceri di Gubbio Practical Info
The Festa dei Ceri takes place every year on May 15th. It is advisable to book accommodation well in advance, as the festival is very popular and rooms fill quickly.
The alzata takes place at 11am in Gubbio’s main square. Get there by 9 to secure a spot. After, follow the morning parade and take a rest, but make sure to be back in town for the corsa, starting at 5pm. Ask locals or the tourist info office for the best vantage point to watch the race.
Scroll down for more Ceri di Gubbio pics!
Carrying the yellow cero of St Ubaldo
St Ubaldo surveying the crowd from the top
Throwing the jugs into the crowd
St George’s banners decorating a building
The ceri saluting the crowd
A horseback rider joins the parade
Supporters old…
…and young!
Getting ready in the main square
An Alpino veteran attending the festival
Gubbio’s main square at night
Super cool! I love festivals, so I’m adding this to my wish list! Great photos!!
Thanks Lindsay! Do visit Gubbio if you can, it’s great!
I loved going trough your amazing photos, it brought me back on when years ago I went to see this festival. I was living in Perugia at that time whilst at university and we went to Gubbuio for the day to see this craziness. Such a cool festival, I still haven’t seen anything quite like this.
Thanks Franca! We loved this festival so much, we’re happy to share it and hopefully inspire more people to visit!
really cool photos! Festivals are one of my favorite things to photograph, just after landscapes 🙂
Same here, totally agree! Thanks for your comment!
This looks like such a fun (and hectic) festival! And your pictures are beautiful 🙂
It was indeed, really good fun! Thanks for your comment!
What a fantastic festival to witness! Such a brilliant set of pics too! 🙂
Thanks for your comment! Glad you liked the pics.
It was really good fun, but there was a lot more wine than beer… I agree with you though, a beer festival like this would definitely be good, not for those who carry the ceri perhaps!
Great photos! They really captured the atmosphere of la Festa dei Ceri. Gubbio seems like a nice place to visit. And why would anybody replace a candle with a wooden pillar (OK, I am really imagining people carrying a small candle uphill)?! Is there any particular food traditionally served at this festival?
Hey Frank! Nobody was able to tell me when the candles became pillars, apparently it’s a mystery. The food associated with the celebration is baccalà alla ceraiola, salted cod cooked with a secret recipe that only two people know how to prepare, then pass on before they die. I had a taste and it was pretty good, amazing I wouldn’t say. Cool story though!
Margherita, I have never heard of this festival, but oh does it look colorful and fun. Your photos are stunning! I have to put this on my list. thanks.
It is amazing Corinne! You should definitely go!
What a cool festival! I’ve never heard of it or the city in which it takes place in. The crowds are massive and so colourful. Thanks for sharing!
Hey Adelina! It’s really lovely, and the city is really pretty all year round! Thanks for your comment!
This looks so fun and neat to see and experience. Lucky you! I love how you captured the colors and the people in your beautiful photos. What great dedication and such wonderful history.
Thanks Mary! It was a great day, and it sparked our love for festivals!
Very nice review of a festival I’ve never heard of before. Looks like a lot of fun with all these enthusiastic Italians! Great pictures too.
It was great fun Jempi! Thanks for your comment!
I’ve never heard of this festival but it looks like a lot of fun. Great photos – the last one is gorgeous! Thanks for linking up to the #SundayTraveler!
Thanks Ashley! Glad you liked the pics. Thanks for your comment!
Sono stato a questo festival. E’ incredibile la pazzia e l’allegria di tutta la gente, e la fatica dei portatori di cero, che dopo una giornata allegra e leggera, fanno una corsa sfrenata per le strade della città e della montagna, portandosi sulle spalle quintali e quintali di legno, e fanno una gara senza vincitori, una guerra senza sconfitti, e poi tutti insieme in gioia e in allegria, con tanto vino. Fantastico e unico. Ci tornerò.
Grazie Marcelo! Anche per noi è stato bellissimo… veramente un’esperienza emozionante!