Ancona overlooks the Adriatic Sea, has one of the largest Italian ports. City of art rich in monuments and with 2,400 years of history, it is one of the main economic centers of the region, as well as its main urban center in terms of size and population.
Stretching towards the sea, the city stands on a promontory in the shape of a bent elbow, which protects the largest natural harbor in the central Adriatic. The Greeks of Syracuse, who founded the city in 387 BC, noticed the shape of this promontory and for this reason they called the new city ἈγκÏŽν, "ankòn", which in Greek means elbow.
The Greek origin of Ancona is remembered by the name with which it is known: the "Doric city".
Some constants characterize the two-thousand-year history of the city: first of all the bond with the sea, then a particular attachment to freedom and independence, which led it to suffer repeated sieges, and finally a lack of interest in territorial expansion.
Ultimately, Ancona was a city that defended itself often and with energy, never engaged in wars of conquest, and dedicated its best forces to navigation and port activities. This unity of purpose of the population often made it possible to overcome partisan interests; therefore the social conflicts that in some epochs characterized the history of other cities were never significant.
Contrary to what happens in other regions, Ancona is the regional capital not because it dominated the surrounding territory at some time (the Marca Ancona was a more geographical than political reality), but because, in addition to always being the most important center, it has in its history the most evident example of the spirit of autonomy and independence typical of all the cities of the Marche, a region characterized by its plurality.
Ancona
Address: Largo XXIV Maggio 1
Phone: 071 2221
Site:
http://www.comune.ancona.gov.it/Location inserted by
BBCC