Gubbio () is a town and municipality (comune) in the northeastern part of the province of Perugia in the region of Umbria in Italy. As of 2025, with a population of 30,297, it is the 6th-largest municipality in Umbria.
In later centuries, the name underwent various corruptions, appearing as Egubium and Eugubium, while the modern name Gubbio represents a further development of these earlier forms.
The summit of Monte Ingino was the focus of ritual activity.
Iron Age
Monte Asciano remained inhabited in the early Iron Age (1200–1000 BCE),<!-- Revisiting Gubbio, section 1.4 --> 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<!-- Manconi 2018, p. ?? --> in the vicinity of the present-day city.<!-- Revisiting Gubbio, section 2 --><!-- page number not shown on Google Books but it's right above Fig. 19 -->
Roman period
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.
Early Middle Ages
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
thumb|Panorama of Gubbio from Viale Parruccini
Gubbio is located in an upland valley in the Apennine Mountains, in the northeastern part of the present-day region of Umbria.<!-- Revisiting Gubbio, section 1 --> This particular part of Umbria is a transitional area, close to both Marche to the east and Tuscany to the west.<!-- Revisiting Gubbio, section 1 --> As a result, Gubbio has historically had strong political and cultural ties to both of those regions.<!-- Revisiting Gubbio, section 1 -->
The Gubbio valley itself is arranged on a northwest-to-southeast axis.<!-- Revisiting Gubbio, section 1 --> A steep limestone escarpment bounds the basin to the northeast.<!-- Revisiting Gubbio, section 1 --> Unusually, streams flow through the Gubbio valley in two opposite directions, although both streams ultimately flow to the Tiber.<!-- Revisiting Gubbio, section 1 -->
Geology
The Gubbio Basin is a graben filled with river and lake sediments.<!-- Territory, p. 18 --> 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.<!-- Territory, p. 18 --> The surrounding mountains are primarily limestone and marl.<!-- Territory, p. 28 -->
In 2021, 5,384 people lived in rural dispersed dwellings not assigned to any named locality.
A mint existed in Gubbio from ancient times, with coins struck by the Iguvini when the city was under Etruscan rule. The mint continued to operate under the Feltreschi and the Della Rovere families. It remained active under Urban VIII, was briefly suspended under Benedict XIV, and continued until the pontificate of Pius VII.
Transport
The city is served by Fossato di Vico–Gubbio railway station located in Fossato di Vico; until 1945 it also operated the Central Apennine railway (Ferrovia Appenino Centrale abbreviation FAC) with a narrow gauge which departed from Arezzo and reached as far as Fossato di Vico and in Gubbio had his own railway station located in via Beniamino Ubaldi 2, now completely demolished.
Demographics
From 1861 to 1881, the population of Gubbio grew steadily from about 21,700 to just over 23,000. Growth accelerated in the early 20th century, reaching over 28,000 by 1911 and continuing to rise through the interwar period to more than 33,000 by 1936.
After World War II, the population peaked at over 37,000 around 1951, then declined notably in the following decades, falling to just above 31,000 by the 1970s. From that point onward, the population remained relatively stable with minor fluctuations, hovering around the low 30,000s into the early 21st century before a slight decline by 2021.
As of 2025, Gubbio has a population of 30,297, of whom 48.8% are male and 51.2% are female. Minors make up 13.3% of the population, and seniors make up 27.8%, compared to the Italian average of 14.9% and 24.7% respectively.
Religion
Cathedral
thumb|Cathedral interior
The cathedral, dedicated to Saints Marianus and James, stands at the foot of Monte Ingino and was built in the 13th and 14th centuries over an earlier Romanesque church, remains of which are visible on the right side of the façade. The pointed-arch portal is surmounted by a circular window framed by a band of foliage and surrounded by the symbols of the Evangelists and the Mystic Lamb. The interior, predominantly Gothic in style, has a single nave in the form of a Latin cross, supported by ten large transverse pointed arches.
The church contains paintings by 16th-century artists from Gubbio, including the Nucci family and Basili, as well as by Sinibaldi Ibi, Giuliano Presutti, and Dono Doni. A Baroque chapel in the middle of the right wall contains frescoes by Francesco Allegrini and a painting of the Birth of the Virgin by Gherardi. To the left of the high altar is the seat of the magistrates with painted imitation inlay by Benedetto Nucci.
Several academies contributed to the intellectual life of Gubbio, including the Accademia degli Oziosi, the Accademia dei Sonnacchiosi, and the Accademia degli Anziosi.
Sport
A.S. Gubbio 1910 football club play in Serie C at the Pietro Barbetti Stadium.
Twin towns – Sister cities
Gubbio is twinned with:
{|class="wikitable"
|- valign="top"
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- Thann, France
- Salon-de-Provence, France
- Wertheim, Germany
- Jessup, USA
- Huntingdon, UK
- Godmanchester, UK
||
- Sassari, Italy
- Palmi, Italy
- Viterbo, Italy
- Nola, Italy
|}
Notable people
Among writers and scholars from Gubbio are Stefano Eugubino, who flourished at the time of Justin and wrote a Chronicon ab origine mundi usque ad Justinum imperatorem; Gabrielli Fazio, a philosopher of the 12th century; Marino di Rosso, a historian active shortly after 1300; , who reportedly studied under Dante Alighieri; Armanno Armanni, author of the Fiorita, a well-known 14th-century linguistic text; and Vittoria Accoramboni, born in 1557, a poet also noted for her beauty and the misfortunes of her life.