Gubbio

Sister cities

• Wertheim
• Viterbo
• Godmanchester
• Jessup
• Szentendre
• Salon-de-Provence
• Thann
• Nola

History

The oldest evidence of human habitation in the Gubbio valley dates back to the Middle Palaeolithic, but only during the Neolithic period (6000–3000 BCE) does the earliest evidence of relatively permanent settlements emerge. The summit of Monte Ingino was the focus of ritual activity. Monte Asciano remained inhabited in the early Iron Age (1200–1000 BCE), a set of bronze tablets that together constitute the largest surviving text in the Umbrian language. According to Dorica Manconi, pre-Roman Ikuvium was located in a well-defined area in the vicinity of the present-day city. As Iguvium became a Roman city, it was noted by classical authors. Silius Italicus referred to it as a place marked by heavy mists, while Cicero also mentioned it. Its earliest historical records date to the period preceding the Social War, during which it obtained Roman citizenship, its inhabitants being enrolled in the Clustumina tribe, and the city becoming a municipium. Strabo listed it among the cities of Umbria, and Pliny mentioned the Iguvini in connection with a herbaceous oil sold along the Via Flaminia. Following the deposition of the last Western Roman emperor by Odoacer, Gubbio shared the fate of other Italian cities under the rule of the Heruli and subsequently the Ostrogoths. It was besieged by a general of Totila, then captured and destroyed. The city was later rebuilt with assistance provided by Narses.

Geography

Gubbio is located in an upland valley in the Apennine Mountains, in the northeastern part of the present-day region of Umbria. This particular part of Umbria is a transitional area, close to both Marche to the east and Tuscany to the west. As a result, Gubbio has historically had strong political and cultural ties to both of those regions. The Gubbio valley itself is arranged on a northwest-to-southeast axis. A steep limestone escarpment bounds the basin to the northeast. Unusually, streams flow through the Gubbio valley in two opposite directions, although both streams ultimately flow to the Tiber. The Gubbio Basin is a graben filled with river and lake sediments. Drainage is to the northwest and southwest; the rest is mostly surrounded by "marly-arenaceous formations on the hills", while to the north is a steep escarpment. The surrounding mountains are primarily limestone and marl. In 2021, 5,384 people lived in rural dispersed dwellings not assigned to any named locality. At the time, the most populous locality was Gubbio proper (14,150). The following localities had no recorded permanent residents: San Benedetto Vecchio.