HISTORY OF ANCONA:
The area of the present day Ancona was populated by the Picentes since the 6th century BC, who built a small settlement there. Starting with 387 BC, when the Greeks from Syracuse arrived, the town developed further. Read More [...]
In the 3rd century BC, Ancona became a Roman town. During the 1st century AD, its harbour was enlarged by Emperor Trajan, on a project by the architect Apollodorus of Damascus.
After the fall of the Western Roman Empire, Ancona was attacked successively by the Goths and the Lombards. In the 7th and 8th centuries, it was one of the cities of the Pentapolis of the Exarchate of Ravenna, ruled by the Byzantine Empire.
In 840, Saracen raiders sacked and burned the city. After Charlemagne's conquest of northern Italy, it became the capital of Marca di Ancona, whence the name of the modern region derives.
Starting with the 11th century, Ancona became increasingly independent, eventually turning into an important maritime republic, often clashing against the nearby Venice.
In 1532, Ancona definitively lost its freedom and became part of the Papal States, under Pope Clement VII.
Ancona entered the Kingdom of Italy on September 29, 1860, when the general Christophe Léon Louis Juchault de Lamoricière surrendered here, eleven days after his defeat at Castelfidardo.
GEOGRAPHY OF ANCONA:
Today, Ancona is a city of about 105,000 inhabitants in the Italian region of Marche. The city is the capital of the province of Ancona and of the region, and one of the main ports on the Adriatic Sea. Read More [...]
Ancona is located on the coast of the Adriatic Sea, between the slopes of the two extremities of the promontory of Monte Conero, Monte Astagno and Monte Guasco.
The city is located 105 kilometers southeast of Rimini, 130 kilometers northwest of Perugia, 150 kilometers northwest of Pescara, 215 kilometers southeast of Bologna, 250 kilometers southeast of Florence, 270 kilometers northeast of Rome, 285 kilometers southeast of Venice, 375 kilometers northwest of Naples, and 435 kilometers southeast of Milan.
TRANSPORT TO ANCONA:
The closest airport is the Marche Airport, also known as the Raffaello Sanzio Airport, located about 15 kilometers west of the city. To get from the airport to Ancona, you can take the Raffaello Aerobus, which makes the connection with the Ancona railway station and Piazza Cavour. A roundtrip ticket, sold on the bus, costs 5.50€. Read More [...]
By train, you can get from Rimini to Ancona in about one hour and a quarter, and from Pescara in about two hours. The cheapest ticket from Rimini costs 9.55€, and the cheapest ticket from Pescara is 12.70€.
TOURIST ATTRACTIONS IN ANCONA:
There are many tourist attractions in Ancona. The most important church of the city is the Cathedral of Ancona, dedicated to San Ciriaco (Saint Cyriacus), located on top of Monte Guasco. Other churches worth seeing are the Church of San Domenico, the Church of San Francesco alle Scale and the Church of Santa Maria della Piazza. Read More [...]
Regarding the civil architecture, we can mention the Arch of Trajan (Arco di Traiano), erected at the beginning of the 2nd century AD, Lazzaretto, a complex designed by architect Luigi Vanvitelli in 1732, Palazzo degli Anziani, the ancient municipal seat of the city, and the beautiful squares Piazza del Plebiscito and Piazza Cavour.
