Gubbio Local Customs

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With its extreme hillside location, there is not much room for a garden for most of the houses at the slope. But while I was walking up and down through Gubbio I was fascinated how inventive the locals are when it comes to a bit of green around their hoses and apartments. Little “bridges” connect houses and their tops have been transformed into terraces. These are not big, but enough to pull chairs and plants out in summer. I especially liked the one in my main photo and was dreaming to live there and spend half of the day out in my chair, enjoying the sun and the serene atmosphere. Haha, and listen to the bell…
And… I know that I will do exactly this one day. Ok, maybe not exactly this one, but I will find my apartment with little balcony :-)

© Ingrid D., November 2009 (just in case, RS or others come along and think they can steal texts).

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Already during my first visit to Gubbio in April 2008 I was fascinated by these metal rings at Palazzo dei Consoli. I thought that they are old and meant to lash horses while the owners were doing business or discussions inside the Palazzo. Yes, that’s certainly true but more fascinating is that they are still being forged. I realised this when I looked at some of them a bit closer. Mainly the ones at Palazzo Bargello are of newer date and the symbols have cute shapes. Not only there is one with cinque colli (photo 3), Gubbio’s symbol but there are roosters (photo 2), a funny dog or sheep (photo 4) and fabulous animals, mostly looking like dragons (photo 5). Thanks to my Italian teacher Edvige Galasso I had the chance to met Gubbio’s blacksmith Luigi Barbi in his smithy and saw many of his other artwork. He still forges beds and house decorations and said horse lashes. And since he is member of Gubbio’s Società Balestieri it is logical that Palazzo Bargello, seat of the society, has a whole set of the horse lashes at the walls. In addition, this includes his marvellous iron works of the balestre, the cross-bows.

Update, May 2010:
Thank you dear Luigi, Edi and Daniele for your wonderful idea of a late birthday surprise! Now I have my own griffone at home, hand made by Luigi :-)

© Ingrid D., December 2009 (just in case, RS or others come along and think they can steal texts).

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Old measuring systems have a certain fascination for me. So I was delighted to see the one at Palazzo dei Consoli. It is similar to the one in Speyer and should most probably means 12 inches in length. Obviously there was another longer one next to it, but the iron bar is no longer there.

Other old measurement standards are in Dornoch (Scotland), cloth size (by Joan, @scotishvisitor), Heidelberg, pretzel size (by Christine), Venezia, fish scale and Norcia, measuring grain.

© Ingrid D., November 2009 (just in case, RS or others come along and think they can steal texts).

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Umbria is a holy country. Among one of the many striking sights are frescoes and saints literarily around every corner. And Gubbio is no exception. Of course Sant’Ubaldo has a special place in the hearts of Gubbio’s locals. But there are also many little shrines for other saints everywhere. When I wandered through the town and uphill to Basilica Sant’Ubaldo I always stopped and looked around to make sure that I didn’t miss any of them. Many of the frescoes did suffer over time or maybe due to the many earthquakes, Umbria and Gubbio has to face once in a while. Images of madonnas and saints are also very much present throughout Gubbio. Often they are embedded into the walls as little reliefs or paintings or frescoes, and sometimes there are little statues, and very often these are decorated with fresh flowers. Several frescoes have been painted by the local artist Ottaviano Nelli, such as the one in my main picture (at chiesa della SS Trinità, opposite of Porta Romana inside the city walls).

© Ingrid D., November 2009 (just in case, RS or others come along and think they can steal texts).

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After my first visit to Gubbio (April 2008) I wrote about these special doors with entrance at higher elevation than street level and described them as “doors of the dead”. Haha, it seems that I swallowed what others including reknown guidebooks wrote but didn’t use my brain to think about it. Well, yes, it surely sounds more mystical and I don’t know who brought this up originally. But now, after my second visit, much more walking around town and opening my eyes I am sure that this “door for deads” is a hoax. I am far from having properly understood the special building styles in Gubbio but am now sure that these elevated doors have their roots in the trading and selling business. The merchants’ shops and stables were at street level, easily to recognise by their round and broad, almost half circle arches. But to separate the living rooms above shops and stables, given the steep ground, separated stairs were leading upstairs. I realised this, or at least it started me to think about it, when I visited Palazzo Bargello. The entrance is through the wide ground level door where a kind of reception is located and some explications about Gubbio and its history. But when I paid my entrance fee the girl lead me outside again through the other, more narrow elevated door and upstairs I arrived in the huge rooms of first and second floor. Yes, I am sure that the narrow doors have always been nothing else but the separate entrances to the living quarters in a town which is so much built on a steep hill. And to protect the owners who would always stand above someone who wants to enter. Even if some of the ground level doors look narrow now, almost anytime through the bricks it is obvious that they were once broader.
Next time I will find out more :-) For sure!

© Ingrid D., December 2009 (just in case, RS or others come along and think they can steal texts).

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Ever since I saw swallow-tail pinnacles in Venezia, they fascinated me. And then I learned that they have a special meaning and stand for ghibelline (supporters of the emperors) buildings, while rectangular ones symbolise the presence of guelphs (supporters of the church). Gubbio was in favour of the ghibellines for a long time, but eventually guelphs took over for a period of time before they were thrown out of the town by ghibellines. But during the time of the guelphs, Palazzo dei Consoli has been built or planned, because it has the typical guelph pinnacles. Who likes to know more, here is something to read about the history of guelphs and ghibellines.

© Ingrid D., February 2009 (just in case, RS or others come along and think they can steal texts).

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One of the fascinating traditions in Gubbio, apart from the societies is the clock bells. No, now I do not refer to il Campanone, but to the bells which announce the time. Anytime they ring it is obvious which time it is. At 4:45 p.m. (16:45) for example they will chime with three high pitched tones announcing 3x15 minutes, followed by sixteen low pitched tones for 4 o’clock. In practice this means that the bells chime every fifteen minutes. I have yet to find out which one rings the hours but the quarter of the hours are being rung by la Mezzana, the one in Palazzo dei Consoli’s torretta (note that it is not called campanile), the one which faces the valley.

Oh, consequently this means that everyone with a light sleep MUST bring earplugs. The bells are ringing in Gubbio literally since ages and will do so until the world collapses. No need to scream like this idiot tourist did in Mezzema, Liguria. No one will ever stop Gubbio's bells ringing because of a stupid tourist complaints. Which is good. These silly tourists should stay at home since they never ever get to the point of different countries – different customs.

Update, August 2010:
During my recent visit in Gubbio I was almost shocked to death when I didn't hear my beloved bells ringing the time..... I still don't know what happened, but I realised that I couldn't sleep well without listening to its sound... It was NOT a question of a ranting tourist, he/she would NOT have survived this (and I would have ended up in jail) but obviously a mechanism problem. The campanari have repaired it when they went up to ring the Campanone on August 14 in the evening. But 2 days later it was defunctioning again. Oh my....
Whatever it was - in case the officials of Gubbio read this: bring this bell back to life!!!!!! PLEASE!!!
Update, December 2010:
The bells are ringing again :-) Of course already earlier than November, but I was happy to hear them ringing in their usual 15 minute schedule when I was in Gubbio the weekend of November 6/7.

© Ingrid D., December 2009 (just in case, RS or others come along and think they can steal texts).

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When I was in Gubbio for the first time in April 2008, I was extremely lucky to see one of the flag throwers’ performances. I was on my way uphill to the cathedral when I suddenly heard some drums. Very much curious I almost raced downhill to find out that there was a huge crowd on Piazza Grande (which was deserted one hour ago, during my visit in Palazzo dei Consoli’s museum). In the middle of the piazza, a very much colourful group of men in ancient dresses were throwing flags. But not only throwing them into the air, but they were doing all kinds of artistic movements like throwing them to their partners, jumping with the flags and juggling with them. Even the kids have their appearance! And they are fantastic with it!
The tradition of flag throwing is quite old. Already in 1435, Gubbio had people whose profession it was to throw or wave flags during religious or local events. This group, which is performing this artistic skill today, is existing since 1969. Their goal is not only to practise this skill, but also to demonstrate their strong bond to the land and their city. If you look close, you can see that many of the flags have Umbrian letters embroided (the ones which have been carved into the Iguvine Tables) – a clear devotion and manifestation to their hometown and their very old origin.
If you are in Gubbio, ask at the tourist office if the Sbandieratori (flag throwers) have an appearance during your visit and make sure to go and watch it! Describing this is one thing, but watching the accuracy of their skills and the fun these guys have, together with the drums is something special.That’s why I ask you to have a look at the three videos in youtube, which Giampaolo Pauselli has put together. They are all made in this fascinating slow motion with many close ups and the perfect music.
Sbandieratori video, 4 minutes, with “1492” by Vangelis,
The vioce of peace, 3 minutes, which maybe is the best one to show what the flags stand for: peace and brotherliness, which the flag throwers stand for,
father and son, dressing up and performing, 5 minutes with music by Ennio Morricone; the boy is Matteo Menichetti and one of the boys who perform during the sbandieratori manifestations.
(Unfortunately, the latter one cannot be watched from German accounts due to terrorism by German greedy GEMA and their inability to come to peace with Youtube).

Update, after my second visit in Oct/Nov 2009:
Thanks to my dear Italian teacher Edvige I had the chance to meet Andrea B. of Gubbio’s Sbandieratori. He showed me their sanctum, the place where the flags are being kept in between the performances and explained us a lot about the meanings of the flags’ designs. Of course there are the ones for the four quartiere, the actual ones are white with red rim and red quartiere symbol in the middle (in the videos they are sometimes the other way around, that’s the older version). Then there are sixteen flags with Iguvine letters (designed by Oscar Piatelli), of course one with the Campanone, four ones in modern design with the three colours of Ceri festival, yellow, blue and black, one flag with the symbol of peace, one for Gubbio (with cinque colli symbol), one for Gubbio as a city in Europe (all in blue with the yellow stars and Palazzo dei Consoli), the flag of Umbria, one for Olympia, one with the symbol of the Medieval rondell headress and one with the letters DUX FE for Federico da Montefeltro. They all are made of silk or silk like material, very soft and very light but the handle is rather heavy, so an additional thanks to Andrea for having held the four up so patiently until I made my photo! Andrea Baffoni is the one who often carries the standard (flag), also in April when I saw them performing for my first time. And his cute little son Stefano is very proud following his father’s tradition and is one of the kids who performs.
Grazie mille Andrea for your time, especially since it was almost lunch time!!

To see more of these artists, please visit their website Sbandieratori, flag throwers or read more on Gubbio’s special website.

© Ingrid D., November 2009 (just in case, RS or others come along and think they can steal texts).