Gubbio's Ceramics, and the One Weekend a Year the Workshops Open Up

Everyone who's spent any time in Umbria knows Deruta for ceramics — it's the name that comes up in every guidebook, and it earns the reputation. What fewer visitors know is that Gubbio, less than an hour from the villas, has its own ceramic tradition, and is a much quieter place to explore.

Best time to go: Late May, for one weekend in particular. Buongiorno Ceramica! is a two-day event held every year across sixty ceramic towns in Italy, and several of them are right here in Umbria, Gubbio included. Workshops that are normally closed to visitors open their doors, artists demonstrate at the wheel, and museums run tours you won't get the rest of the year. In 2026 it fell on 23–24 May; expect a similar late-May weekend most years, and check the dates before you plan a trip around it.

The Buongiorno Ceramica happens in May every year

Gubbio, For a Path Less Traveled

Gubbio doesn't draw the crowds Deruta does, and that's the appeal. The town has its own ceramic traditions, distinct in both technique and look: Mastro Giorgio's famous lustreware with its glossy, almost metallic finish, striking black Etruscan bucchero, and a blue-and-white style called zaffera that owes something to Moorish design. Prices tend to be friendlier here too, since Gubbio hasn't been promoted for tourism the way some neighbors have been. There are family workshops (all on Via dei Consoli) worth a special visit. Ceramiche Baffoni has been producing ceramics and majolica in Gubbio since 1830, using techniques and styles passed down through generations from the Renaissance. Both Sabrina Matteucci and her husband, Raimondo Baffoni are sought after artists, producing unique pieces of handpainted majolica made from Umbrian clay. Their studio also produces reproduction Etruscan bucchero pottery, known for its elegant lines and glossy black finish. Bucchero was made in the 4th century BC during the Etruscan era.

Another workshop worth knowing is Ceramiche Rampini, working in Gubbio since 1954 and rooted in the same lustreware tradition established by the town's most famous ceramicist, La Mastro Giorgio, in the 1500s.

Also on Via dei Consoli is Ceramiche Biagioli who keep the traditions of the master ceramicist, Giorgio Andreoli (Lo Mastro Giorgio) who produced luxury tableware for nobles, dukes and Pope Leo X in the early 1500s, becoming known for his lustrous glazing style.

Lo Mastro Giorgio lustreware at Ceramiche Biagioli

How we'd plan it

Gubbio is about an hour's drive from Altabella so we'd build the whole day around it rather than trying to combine it with somewhere else. It is one of Umbria's best-preserved medieval towns and wandering the medieval streets and alleys offers a quieter touring experience. While you are there have pasta with truffles or torta al testo stuffed with spinach and sausage. Don't miss the small Roman amphitheater and the church where Saint Francis is said to have tamed the wolf.