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 Go
to Gubbio, near Perugia in Umbria, on May 15th,
for one of Italy's most famous and striking traditional
festivals. The origins of Gubbio's Corsa
dei Ceri (Race of the Candles) are mysterious,
and, like most popular Italian festivals it is a
mix of the sacred and profane. Some people date
it back to the 12th Century when a race was held
to thank Saint Ubaldo, the then bishop of Gubbio,
for his part in the town's victory over a neighbouring
city state (in the past Italy was divided into a
myriad of city states all engaged in continual power
struggles -ed.).
 Each
year the celebrations attract a huge crowd and are
essentially unchanged from when they were first
held. The Ceri (candles) are three massive
wooden pillars, four hundred kilos each and four
metres high, which are paraded through the town
on the morning of the 15th, finishing up in Piazza
della Signoria. Each 'candle' represents a saint
- Saint Ubaldo, Saint George and Saint Anthony -
respectively the patron saints of bricklayers, sales
people and farmers. On the stroke of midday the
candles are raised, water is poured on them from
a jug and the jug then broken. There is always a
rush to find bits of the jug as they supposedly
bring good luck.
At this stage the preliminaries begin, reaching
a climax at six when the candles are blessed and
the race proper starts. The Ceraioli (candle
bearers), dressed in different colours - yellow
for Saint Ubaldo, blue for Saint George and black
for Saint Anthony, charge off up the steep hill
behind Gubbio towards the Basilica
di S.Ubaldo. There is no actual winner (The
first one past the church door - Saint Ubaldo's
yellow team is always the first one).
The race, however, is more than a one-day wonder.
The Ceri - which are stored in the Basilica
during the rest of the year - are carried through
the streets of the town on May 1st,
as those of you who were lucky enough to spend their
May Day holiday in Gubbio will undoubtedly know.
So don't miss your chance to take part in one of
Italy's liveliest festivals - a spectacular mix
of the sacred and profane where human nature is
the true winner, year after year.
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THE SURVIVOR'S 
