Last minute Brief history of the city of Gubbio: from Tavole Egubine to the fourty Martyrs

The archaeological testimonies reveal the presence of the man in Gubbio outskirts since the epoch of the middle Palaeolithic, but the first real form town was engraved by the Umbri, whose founded Ikuvium, a rich and powerful installation, which social and religious life is described and regulated by the Tavole Egubine. This exceptional finding was recovered in 1444 and today is guarded in the Civic Museum. These are seven bronze tables on which are engraved on twelve façades information on the divinities, cults, rites, prayers and demonstrations, but also on the topography of the territory. Some are written in ancient Umbrian dialect, with Etruscan characters dated III-II century B.C., others in Latin language datable around the I century A.C.

Gubbio was the first Umbrian city to tighten a pact of alliance with Rome (III century B.C.), and this brought it to always gravitate in its orbit, up to firmly pass under its dominion, getting in the 89 B.C. the Roman citizen. In that epoch the city was called Iguvium, it possessed a splendid Roman Theatre, that still exists, and structured its own urban centre on the classical model of Roman origin, on which the following medieval development will be happily installed.

With the collapse of the Roman Empire, Iguvium becomes Agobbio, and remains exposed to the frequent invasions and devastations of the barbaric hordes time after time, in long and in wide the peninsula.

The definitive rebirth begins beginning from the XI century, and continuous with bishop Ubaldo Baldassini's address (1128-1160), when the city became a blooming of buildings, roads and sacred buildings, which engraves a definite acceleration to the political life, social cultural and artistic, crowned by the institution of Gubbio as free Commune. In this period the city assumes the aspect that will characterize it in the following years up to make it like we see today. Floridity and power increase time after time, so Gubbio extends its territorial dominion, it defeats a coalition of 11 communes driven by Perugia that gives battle. It reaches the notable number of 50.000 inhabitants, Piazza della Signoria and the Palazzo dei Consoli are consequently built. The main social work, civilian and religious of the bishop Ubaldo will cross in full the history of Gubbio, engraved in the places and in the memory of the inhabitants and consecrated by pope Celestino III, who in 1192 proclaims him saint and the city its patron.

But despite all Gubbio will lose its autonomy passing from the dominion of the family Gabrielli to that of the pontifical legacy Egidio Albornoz. The popular fury never accepted such solution, so took back the guide of the city and submitted it to the dukes of Montefeltro, whose best demonstration of government had with Federico, born in Gubbio in 1422, thanks to the fame of its military enterprises, to its work of patron and the construction of the Palazzo Ducale. Finished the epoch of the Montefeltro in 1508, with the death of Guidobaldo, the dominion passed in the hands of the Della Rovere, up to when the city didn't suffer the dominion of the Pontifical State and to be annexed finally to the Kingdom of Italy in 1860.

But the stories of the past don't exhaust the history of Gubbio, as it testify the elevated tribute of blood offered by the fourty martyrs slaughtered for retaliation by Nazi soldiers during the Second World War in 22^nd June 1944, whose memory is always alive and present in the Mausoleum devoted to them and sets on the place of the sad episode.

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Tavole Eugubine, the memory of Gubbio - This exceptional finding was recovered in 1444, very probably in the Roman Theatre of Gubbio. Today is guarded in the Civic Museum. These are seven bronze ta...
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