ANCONA, the Marches, Italy, an episcopal see and capital of the province of Ancona, on the north-east coast of Italy, 185m. N.E. of Rome by rail and 132m. direct, and 12 7m. S.E. of Bo logna. Pop. (1931) S3,112 (town) 84,390 (commune). The town stands on and between the steep slopes of the two extremities of the promontory of Monte Conero, Monte Astagno to the south, occupied by the citadel, and Monte Guasco to the north, on which the cathedral stands (3ooft.). The latter, dedicated to S. Ciriaco, is said to occupy the site of a temple of Venus, mentioned by Catullus and Juvenal as the tutelary deity of the place and 14 columns in the interior are attributed to it. It was consecrated in 1128 and completed in 1189. It is fine Romanesque in grey stone, in the form of a Greek cross, with a dodecagonal dome over the centre. The facade has a Gothic portal. The interior, with a crypt in each transept, preserves its original character. In the dilapi dated episcopal palace Pope Pius II. died in 1464. S. Maria della Pizza has an elaborate arcaded facade (I 2 I o) . The Palazzo del Comune (twice restored) with lofty arched substructures at the back, was the work of Margaritone d'Arezzo (127o). Fine late Gothic buildings include churches of S. Francesco and S. Agostino, the Palazzo Benincasa, and the Loggia dei Mercanti, all by Giorgio Orsini, usually called da Sebenico and the prefecture, which has Renaissance additio9s. The portal of S. Maria della Misericordia is ornate early Renaissance. There is an important archaeological museum.
To the east of the town is the harbour, now an oval basin of 990 by 88o yards, which, though small, is the finest harbour on the south-west coast of the Adriatic, and one of the best in Italy; im provements are in progress. It was originally protected only by the promontory on the north from the elbow. like shape of which (Gr. 6.7K6w) the ancient town, founded by Syracusan refugees about 390 B.C., took the name which it still holds. Greek mer chants established a purple factory here (Sil. Ital. viii. 438). Even in Roman times it kept its own coinage and continued the use of the Greek language. When it became a Roman colony is doubtful. It was occupied as a naval station in the Illyrian War of 178 B.C. Caesar took possession of it immediately after crossing the Rubi con. Its harbour was of considerable importance in imperial times as the nearest to Dalmatia, and was enlarged by Trajan, who con structed the north quay. It was his starting point for his second expedition to Moesia and Dacia in A.D. At the beginning of it stands the marble triumphal arch, erected in his honour in A.D. II 5. Pope Clement II. prolonged the quay, and an inferior imita tion of Trajan's arch was set up; he also erected a lazaretto at the south end of the harbour, now a tobacco warehouse, Vanvitelti being the architect-in-chief. The southern quay was built in 188o, and the harbour is now protected by forts on the heights. Steam ers run regularly to Zara and Fiume and also to Gravosa. The imports and exports (but mainly the former) in 1921 amounted to 373,00o tons. There is a large sugar refinery and a shipbuilding yard. In 1926 the port dealt with 605,562 tons of merchandise, and 4,568 ships of tonnage 1,912,774, carrying 31,073 passengers.
Ancona was attacked by Goths, Lombards and Saracens, but recovered its importance. It was one of the cities of the Pentap olis under the exarchate of Ravenna, the other four being Fano, Pesaro, Senigallia and Rimini, and eventually became a semi independent republic under papal protection until Gonzaga took possession for Clement VII. in 1532. From 1797 onwards, when the French took it, it frequently appears in history as an important fortress, until Lamoriciere capitulated here on Sept. 29, 186o, eleven days after his defeat at Castelfidardo. It suffered some damage from bombardment by the Austrian fleet on May 24, 1915.