Ancona Marches Italy Marken Italien Marche Italia

Ancona is the main city of the Region Marche and it's situated at the centre of the Adriatic coast, north of the Conero promontory. The name Ancona originates from the greek word "Ankon" which means "elbow" and was conceived by the first greek sailors (Siracusans) who founded the city in 387 BC. After 295 BC (Battle of Sentinum) it became a Roman Colony and Emperor Trajan (2nd century AD) used Ancona Port as starting point for his "Dacian Campaign". It became an independent commune in the 11th century turning into an important maritime republic and withstood the assaults of Venice and Frederick Barbarossa. After 1532 Ancona became part of the Papal States under Pope Clement VII.
Clement XII extended the port in 1730, and Ancona was declared a "free port". This brought to a period of economical and artistic splendour of the city. In 1797 Napoleon occupied the city and, after the Battle of Castelfidardo in 1860, it became part of the Kingdom of Italy.