I found a lovely ceramic plaque from Gubbio the other day in a thrift shop, with the shield (?) of S. Ubaldo painted on it. Since I couldn't find Ubaldo in my [small] dictionary of saints, I took a look for him on the web, where I found this website: Corsa dei Ceri

It briefly describes Gubbio's May 15 Race of the Candles, originally held in the 12th century as a thank you to Ubaldo, then bishop of Gubbio. (Saint Ubaldo, btw, is the patron saint of bricklayers. ) It sounds like a fun festival day - has anyone been?

(Wow - there's a link on the above website to the St. Ubaldo's Day celebration in Jessup, Pennsylvania! Who knew?)

Colleen in California