Basilica di Sant'Ubaldo

The Basilica of Sant'Ubaldo stands on Monte Ingino above Gubbio and preserves the body of the city's patron saint. The basilica is also closely linked to the Festa dei Ceri, whose three wooden structures are kept here outside the annual procession.

Why it matters

Sant'Ubaldo was a twelfth-century bishop of Gubbio whose cult remains central to the city's identity. The basilica crowns the mountain above the town and serves as the destination of the Ceri procession each 15 May.

What to notice

The church has five naves and a semicircular apse, with frescoes dating from the sixteenth to eighteenth centuries. A bronze urn above the altar holds the saint's body. In the cloister, frescoes attributed to Pier Angelo Basili depict episodes from Sant'Ubaldo's life.

Context and history

A church is documented on the site from the thirteenth century. It was restored in the first half of the sixteenth century and enlarged in the early 1500s, when the convent and cloister were built. The three Ceri remain at the basilica for most of the year before returning to Gubbio for the annual festival.