The arts and crafts of the past are still well-preserved inside the ancient walls of this medieval town, thanks to the ingenuity and skill of artisans since ancient times. Numerous activities contribute to forming Gubbio’s rich artistic and artisanal heritage: from its fine embroideries to leather work, whilst other excellent, traditional crafts are not only typical of Gubbio but also of Umbria and Italy as a whole, such as the crafting of ceramics, wood and wrought iron. Handed down from generation to generation, becoming the pride of modern-day Gubbio, these arts developed above all in the 15th-16th century under the flourishing lordship of the Counts of Urbino. Gubbio’s gorgeous ceramics are linked above all to the work of the famous lusterware inventor Giorgio Andreoli, whose masterpieces are kept in the town’s ceramics museum at Porta Romana. In more recent times, starting from 1920, interest in ceramics grew, with the opening of numerous town shops. The tradition of woodworking is safeguarded by the historic University of Carpenters which still operates today and schools the numerous artisan furniture shops that create reproduction furniture, especially Renaissance pieces, as well as the young people involved in the construction of lutes and in the restoration of wooden furnishings.
As you stroll through the streets we recommend you stop by one of the many blacksmith workshops scattered throughout the historic centre: inside you can still admire the amazing ability of these artisans engaged in a modern revival, with hints of Art Nouveau and Art Deco, of traditional Gothic-Renaissance forms. In Gubbio, past and present have found a way to forge a harmonious future together!