La festa dei ceri

the Festival of the

Ceri It is one of the

oldest, if not the

oldest Italian

folklore display.

there are two basic

hypotheses: one

religious and one

pagan.

Origin

The first,out sees the festival as a solemn act of devotion

on the part of the Eugubini towards their Bishop Ubaldo

Baldassini which started in 1160, the year of his death.

The second theory, sees

the festival as being a

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.

Taking a leading role in

the festival, all the people

of Gubbio can be ceraioli,

either through birth or

merit.

The women, who cheer

and support the Ceri,

never carry them.

characters of the

representation

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. The test of great strength and ability is to

make the Cero run as far as possible keeping it upright, without

letting it fall or swing over.

This is 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 Finish. 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.