The Ceri of Gubbio: Giants Carried for Sant’Ubaldo

Gubbio · Umbria

The tradition and its place

Each May, three tall wooden structures called ceri are carried through Gubbio in honour of Sant’Ubaldo and other saints. The people carrying them, their colour-coded groups and the steep city streets are inseparable parts of the experience. The structures are heavy civic objects, not simply props for a colourful race.

Reading the evidence

The festival shows how a community can carry its own history literally on its shoulders. Claims that its movements preserve one precisely identifiable ancient pagan rite exceed the available evidence. Its documented devotional and civic life already has depth enough without that shortcut.

Another angle

The “race” is a relationship between the carried object and the carriers, not a contest reducible to a finish line. The route has turns and constraints familiar to local participants. They teach newcomers why strength alone is insufficient without timing, trust and a shared sense of responsibility.