La festa dei ceri

The Festival of the

Ceri is one of the

oldest- if not the

oldest- Italian

popular festival.

There are two basic

hypotheses about

its origin: one

religious and one

pagan.

Origin

The first hypothesis is that the festival is a solemn act of

devotion from the citizens of Gubbio towards their Bishop

Ubaldo Baldassini. In fact, it started in 1160, the year of

his death.

The second theory sees

the festival as the

continuation of a pagan

festival in honour of

Ceres, goddess of the

harvest.

The candles

The top peg is used to fix one of the three little statues

who represent the saints who protect the corporations: St

Ubaldo for the builders, St George for the shopkeepers

and St Anthony for the country folk.

Everyone in Gubbio can

become a “ceraiolo”,

either through birth or

merit.

The women, who cheer

and support the Ceri,

never carry them. Only

during the periods of war,

when the men were

absent, women were

allowed to carry the

“Ceri”

After the bishop's blessing,

the race starts.

The colourful

crowds separate

as if by miracle

to leave way for

the Ceri to run

through the

narrow medieval

streets, well

placed on the

robust shoulders

of the ceraioli,

swaying

alarmingly,

grazing and

sometimes

touching walls

and windows.

With great ability and years of experience, the ceraioli manage to

prevent dangerous accidents, even though they slip and often fall,

especially when it is rainy. It takes a lot of strength to carry the Cero

in an upright position as much as possible, without letting it fall or

swing over.

This is the scene of the

victory, bearing in

mind that there is no such thing

as over-taking in this race: the

Ceri arrive at the top of the

mountain in the same order that

they left in: St Ubaldo, St

George and St Anthony.

The End of the Race: the Ceri arrive at the steps of the Basilica

of St Ubaldo, and here the race ends with the "abbassata", the

lowering of the Ceri so that they can go through the main door,

the climbing of the steps and the closing of the door at the top of

them.

The final lowering

of the Ceri is

spectacular

because it

happens while the

Ceri are still

running, and it

also involves a

contest between St

Ubaldo and St

George over the

closing of the door.