Gubbio:Funivia and Tartufi

Friday, Nov 1
Wow, we've been gone a month. Only a few days left in this glorious country. We'll be happy to get home-but still have a bit of fun to go before we return.
We left our apartment in Foligno on Friday. I thought we should spend our last weekend in Italy in a peaceful location, so we headed to the Adriatic Coast to Pesaro. Along the way, we spent the day in Gubbio in the northeastern region of Umbria. It was a beautiful drive through the hills and valleys of that area.
Gubbio is a lovely place-as evidenced by throngs of Italians heading into town that day. What could be going on, we wondered? We concluded it was a holiday, All Saint's Day, but couldn't figure out where everyone was going. We saw signs for a festival in town: Tartufi Bianci (white truffles), maybe that was it.
We found another gem in Gubbio and headed there first: the funivia. This is like a ski-lift in that it takes you top of the mountain. You ride standing in a basket/cage sort of thing, with enough room, tightly, for two people. The fun part is that it doesn't stop to let you on/off. You stand ready, an attendant opens the door to the cage, and you jump in/out quickly!

Funivia lift to the top of the mountain

Jumping on

Very steep ascent to the top of the hill. I'm not quite sure what would happen if you couldn't get off in time--I suppose you'd ride the loop and try again! At the top there are a few restaurants and a church-of course! We had lunch admiring the view and enjoying the sunshine on this unseasonably warm day. We could see the ruins of the Roman amphitheater from up there.

Ancient Roman amphitheater 

We elected to check out the church and found there the remains of Saint Ubaldo, the town's patron Saint. We also saw the "cero" pillars--each weighing about 200 pounds. For centuries, they celebrate the "Corso dei Ceri" festival to celebrate St. Ubaldo, and men from different neighborhoods in town compete and carry these pillars (ceri) through the streets and up to the church on the hill.

Gary checks out a cero pillar

After our funivia ride back down the mountain, we checked out the truffle festival at the Piazza Grande. There were some folks milling about, tasting and buying truffles, but not the crowds we expected. We tasted some samples and also checked out the impressive Palazzo dei Consoli, previous seat of government and now a museum.

Tartufi (truffles)

Display showing model truffle hog

Palazzo dei Consoli

Piazza Grande

We walked around the town a bit more and finally realized that Gubbio is a favorite spot for Italians on their holiday. Families were scattered here and there throughout town, picnicking and filling restaurants, visiting churches and the Ducal Palace, but mostly hanging out and enjoying a lovely day.

Gubbio

Before continuing our drive to the coast, we found the "Fontana del Pazzi". Legend has it that if you run around this fountain 3 times, you will go crazy. Don't worry, I only went around twice!