The name comes from the Greek ankón, elbow: the city was founded in 387 before Christ by the Syracusans on a bent promontory that creates the only natural harbour on the middle Adriatic. The Arch of Trajan, raised in 115 after Christ, still thanks the emperor who enlarged that port; on top of the Guasco hill, the cathedral of San Ciriaco mixes Romanesque and Byzantine while watching the ships leave for Greece.
Its golden age, though, is the Middle Ages, when Ancona was a rich and independent maritime republic, known as the gateway to the East: a maritime republic almost nobody lists beside the famous four. The port is still among Italy's leading ones for international passengers, and inside it there is even a pentagonal island, with the eighteenth-century Lazzaretto. The picture gallery lines up Titian and Lotto. And thanks to the elbow, here you can see both sunrise and sunset over the sea: the Passetto, with its caves dug by fishermen, is the right place to check.
Basilica cattedrale di San Ciriaco · chiesa di San Domenico · chiesa di San Francesco alle Scale and 5 more
24 places to stay · top rated: NUMA HOTEL 9.6 · Conero Camere 9.4
Next up: Feast of Saint Cyriacus, Tuesday 4 May
Nearest airport: Ancona, 12 km away
Ancona is part of 🏖️ Seaside
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📅 Every year, on 4 May
On 4 May Ancona celebrates Saint Cyriacus, called Ceriàgo in town: by tradition bishop of Jerusalem, martyred under Julian the Apostate, and titular of the cathedral.
Basilica cattedrale di San Ciriaco Ancona's cathedral and basilica, home to Vanvitelli's shrine and the venerated painting of the Queen of All Sa 
chiesa di San Domenico Designed in 1763 in Ancona's Piazza del Papa, the Church of San Domenico holds works by Guercino and Gioacchin 
chiesa di San Francesco alle Scale 14th-century church in Ancona featuring a famous portal by Giorgio da Sebenico and an altarpiece by Lorenzo Lo 
chiesa di Santa Maria della Piazza An iconic 11th-century Romanesque church in Ancona built over 4th-century Palaeo-Christian mosaics. 
Museo archeologico nazionale delle Marche Housed in Palazzo Ferretti, this museum preserves the world's most complete collection of Picene archaeology. 
Museo Omero A state tactile museum inside Ancona's Mole Vanvitelliana allowing visitors to explore art through touch. Straight-line distances from the town centre. Tap a point to open its page.
The closest destinations covered by our editors, with straight-line distance.
Outside Ancona, but an easy day trip away.
