Mary Ann's Blog
When Saints Compete
April 28, 2025
They are ardently competitive and revered like rock stars. They have fans in the millions; their names are household words. Some say that they have touched their lives in miraculous ways, while others daily implore them to do the impossible. They are saints…Ubaldo, Antonio, and Georgio and they are the honored holy ones in the ancient, stone city of Gubbio. Every May 15th they mesmerize the citizens of Gubbio, and the world in a special way. In fact no one from Gubbio would think of being anywhere else on that day but smack in the center of the Piazza Grande, young and old, packed like sardines, waiting in heightened anticipation to catch a glimpse of the saints as their likenesses are carried out of the austere looking civic palace, the Palazzo dei Consoli, each one perched precariously high atop twenty foot intricately carved, missile looking, wooden candles called ceri and weighing about a thousand pounds each. Each saint will be carried by teams of runners through narrow eye- of- the needle, twisted streets up Mount Ingino and finally come to rest at the summit in the church of Saint Ubaldo.
It is a privilege for me to be amid this reverent frenzy, to see up close what la corsa dei cerimeans to the people of Gubbio who refer to this event as” the race of the crazies.” The festivities are planned for all year long and this is one of the oldest celebrations in Italy, and even brings people with Umbrian heritage from the states, especially from Jessup, Pennsylvania, Gubbio’s sister city. The event is documented in the Tavole Eugubine, the Eugubine Tablets, a set of prayers and rituals written in the Etruscan and Roman languages that date from 250-150 BC. that is housed in the Palazzo dei Consoli. Archaeologists have found stirring evidence of the longevity of this event from sacrificial offerings made high atop the mountains when it was a pagan celebration, then in 1256, the event was Christianized.
May 15th is the eve of the anniversary of the death of Saint Ubaldo (1160), Gubbio’s much beloved bishop and patron saint. To prepare for the race, citizens from every walk of life take to the kitchens of the town’s restaurants to cook a meatless feast for la vigilia, the vigil. In the kitchen of the Taverna del Lupo, a well-known restaurant, a group of men are singing as they prepare baccala arrosta (roasted cod fish), wrap hunks of cheese bread called crescia, and prepare to sell the baccala to the public for a few euro. At the same time they prepare a feast for the privileged thousand or so guests, who along with town officials will eat together the next day in the Palazzo dei Consoli prior to the start of the race; the menu includes a cold seafood salad of shrimp, calamari, and mussels, seafood risotto, boiled salmon with caper sauce, roast pork with rosemary, frittata filled with seafood, mixed green salad, and a sponge cake filled with pastry cream in the shape of the ceri. Umbrian wines flow in abundance, and the crowd sings at a fever pitch…. all this in anticipation of 5 o’clock in the afternoon when the race of the saints begins. The irony of all this merrymaking is that the outcome of the race is already known, as it is each year. Saint Ubaldo is the declared winner even before the race begins, and of course this makes no sense to a foreigner, but it makes perfect sense to the people of Gubbio who see this as an affirmation of their pride in being Eugubini.
Everyone participates in the event from declaring allegiance to a favorite saint and wearing that saint’s colors to displaying the colors in flags that are draped from doorways, windows, and balconies. I buy a red and yellow scarf symbolizing Gubbio and Saint Ubaldo.Saint Anthony fans wear black and Saint George, blue.
The roar of the crowd is at a fever pitch as the time grows closer for the race to begin and a downpour of red, yellow, black, and blue paper confetti rains down on everyone squeezed into Piazza Grande. Drums begin to beat, trumpeters in red and white medieval costumes pump out their sounds, people begin to chant, and church bells of the campanile peel as the monstrous doors of the civic palace are opened to announce each saint and its team of runners. I can feel the surge of energy in the crushing, deafening cry of the crowd as the first team races out carrying Saint Ubaldo soaring high on top of his cero. He is whizzed through the crowd, resplendent in his pointed, bishop’s hat, clutching his gold staff with his gold cape flapping in the breeze. He reminds me of a soft-souled Santa Claus with his snowy white beard, and sweet face, but in fact he represents the absolute authority of the church. Next comes Saint George, defender of the faith, symbol of the military, prancing on his mighty horse, his hands firmly on his silver shield and sword. He is all business, and the crowd rocks with enthusiasm. Then the gentle Saint Anthony, symbol of the working class, clothed in his humble brown garb, closes ranks, and is paraded four times around the square, as is the tradition. Each saint is greeted with endless, frenetic chants, and before the race begins all the saints stop at various high windows, and balconies along the narrow streets from which the citizens of Gubbio pin money to their clothes, touch them with reverence, give them a pat on the back, and encourage them to do their best.
At the stroke of five, the race begins with Saint Ubaldo leading the pack down the narrow, steep streets, followed by Saint George, and Saint Anthony. They are cheered along the route to the church at the top of Mount Ingino as if no one knows who will win, but of course they do know; it is the way the race must be run according to tradition, and when darkness falls on Gubbio, and the saints are once again returned to their resting places, the singing, and dancing and joy for this day continues long into the night, and plans are made for next year’s race and the anticipation of who will win la corsa dei ceri will build once again in the souls and hearts of the Eugubini.
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