Monday 15/05/2024 The famous Gubbio Candle Race takes place every year on May 15th, the eve of the feast of the Patron Saint Ubaldo; it has centuries-old traditions, dating back to 1160.
The Gubbio Candle Race are three gigantic wooden structures in the shape of overlapping prisms, weigh about four quintals, are over four meters high and surmounted by the statues of St. Ubaldo, St. George and St. Anthony; on the day of the festival they are carried on the shoulders of the “ceraioli” in a wild race through the streets of the city, in the arduous and tiring ascent to Mount Ingino, where stands the Basilica of the Patron Saint.
Of the event, internationally renowned photographer Steve McCurry said:
” I used to see three Saints and I saw three candles. I thought I was seeing a city and I saw a people.
But most of all, I thought I was seeing a party and I saw life.”
