FANO, a coast town and episcopal see of the Marches, Italy (anc. Fanum Fortune, q.v.) province of Pesaro and Urbino, 8 m. S.E. of Pesaro by rail, and 46 ft. above sea-level. Pop. town, 13,563, commune 30,878. S. Croce and S. Maria Nuova contain pictures by Giovanni Santi, the father of Raphael. S. Agostino contains a painting of the Angelo Custode ("the Guardian Angel") by Guercino which is the subject of a poem by Robert Browning. The fine Gothic Palazzo della Ragione (1299) has been converted into a theatre. The palace of the Malatesta has fine porticos and Gothic windows; and there is also an imposing citadel built by them. S. Michele, built against the arch of Augustus, is an early Renaissance building (1475-1490), probably by Matteo Nuzio of Fano, with an ornate portal.
Mediaeval Fano had a chequered story and in the 14th century became subject to the Malatesta. In 1463 Pius II. added it to the states of the Church. Julius II. established here in 1514 the first printing press with movable Arabic type. The harbour was restored by Paul V. ; Fano is a favourite sea bathing resort.