Countless are the site of historical, archaeological, cultural, artistic and naturalistic interest in Ancona. We will try to list them, giving only the basics, to avoid being boring. Everyone can examine in depth on the site of the various monuments and scenic places, according to individual interests.
ST. CYRIAC’S CATHEDRAL AND THE DIOCESAN MUSEUM

It is one of the symbols of the city and is dedicated to St. Cyriac, a martyred bishop. His body is still preserved in the Crypt of the cathedral. The interior is in the shape of a Greek cross with three aisles and the ceiling is of painted wood. Worth of note are the Romanesque-Gothic façade, the dodecagonal dome, the typical lions made of red marble of Verona and the beautiful and large rose window. The cathedral houses the miraculous painting of the “Virgin of all Saints” who began to move her eyes. You can see the remains of an ancient Hellenic temple and an early Paleo-Christian Basilica through a glass-covered opening in the floor. Next to the cathedral is the former Bishop’s Palace that now houses the Diocesan Museum with its valuable collection of tapestry designed by Rubens. It is best to park in the roads below the cathedral, near the port and we suggest walking up the winding road leading to the hill on which the cathedral stands. You will enjoy a wonderful view over the city, its sea, the Trajan’s Arch, the port and its shipyards with ships under construction. It is a great spot for photo shoots!
THE PASSETTO BEACH
The Passetto district, the place of the hearths of the inhabitants of Ancona and not only, is a balcony overlooking a stretch of high coast. Once you arrive near the War Memorial to the Fallen there are various possibilities, all worthy of exploration. On your right you can visit the Public Park of the Passetto Small Lakes, recently restored to its original beauty. There are small lakes, small bridges, small waterfalls, children playgrounds, a skating rink, centuries-old trees, meadows, benches for resting with sea view and the path leading to the Spiaggiola. Otherwise on your left there is a pine tree wood, a children playground, the panoramic lift, working only in summer, taking you to the beach below, the path of “Ripe di Gallina” and the path of “Grotta Azzurra” (Blue Cave), both leading to the sea. In front of the War Memorial there is instead a monumental double flight of steps, a staircase with several panoramic terraces leading to one of the most loved urban beaches in Italy: Passetto Beach. Do not get discouraged by the great number of steps because what you will discover down below is something truly amazing! In the early 1900s in the base of the cliff, close to the sea, local fishermen built caves carved out of the rocks, used as a shelter for their boats and their fishing gear. Today almost all the caves have lost their original function and have been transformed into small real houses with all services. The “grottaroli” (cave owners) have personalised them with paintings and ceramics and enjoy them from the first to the last sun during the year or use them as summer shelters. You can look at the caves from both the sea and the mainland. It is a must-see place, made distinctive by the bright colours of the doors of the caves. The beach is characterised by many rocks emerging from the water and is frequented also by the urban inhabitants who cannot go to the other beaches of the Riviera and take advantage of this “under the house” beach. The beach is fully equipped and there is only a restaurant on stilts at the foot of the staircase. Keep walking on your left, admiring the numerous caves you can see a gigantic rock subject to erosion phenomena, half-connected to the shore by tongues of stone just above the water. The locals named it “la Sedia del Papa” (the Pope’s Chair) after its shape. This side of the beach is pure and wild nature and you can lie down on the rocks, lulled by the sound of the waves and the seagulls, warmed by the sun reflected in the many colours of the sea.
ROMAN AMPHITHEATRE
Coming down the stairs near the Cathedral you can admire what remains of the Roman Amphitheatre, built in the time of Augustus (I century BC) that was probably able to hold approximately 8.000 spectators.
TRAJAN’S ARCH

It is one of the most important Roman monument located in the port. It is a work of extraordinary elegance, built by Apollodorus of Damascus in 115 AD, in honour of Trajan. Trajan rebuilt the port at his own expense providing it with a protective quay. At the time of its construction the arch was on the sea and indicated the landing point of the port for those arriving by sea. A walkable wall connects it to the Arch of Clement XII (Arco Clementino) built by Vanvitelli. We advise you to follow the wall on foot because you will enjoy a wonderful view over the port and its shipyards. These are the Roman walls of the port built in 113 BC when Ancona became a Roman town. Thanks to an impressive lighting of the monument, in the evening the area is a destination for many local inhabitants and tourists who enjoy the sunset over the port. You can also stop for an aperitif in one of the cafés in the port area.
THE VANVITELLIAN MOLE AND THE OMERO TACTILE MUSEUM
It is also named “Lazaretto” (Lazaret) and stands on a pentagon-shaped artificial island in the harbour. It was designed by Vanvitelli with first sanitary, then defensive and storage fuction. After several renovations, today it is home to conferences and exhibitions. Inside the Mole you can also visit the Omero Tactile Museum, an unusual museum, unique in Italy, where you can discover art from a new perspective, your hands. A couple of blind people, tired of not being able to touch the works in museums, decided to create this museum. It is open to everyone. The sighted people are blindfolded, then guided in the exploration of 15 architectural models and 150 art works in various material. A unique sensory experience not to miss!
THE PLEBISCITO SQUARE

It is popularly known as Piazza del Papa ( Pope’s Square) because of the huge marble statue of Pope Clement XII, a significant figure who played a great role in the economic and cultural rebirth of the city. He granted it the free port and requested Vanvitelli to expand and modernise its port. On the long rectangular square, on various levels, stands the Church of San Domenico, housing a Crucifixion by Titian and an Annunciation by Guercino, the Government’s Palace seat of the Prefecture, the Civic Clock Tower and the Mengoni Ferretti Palace housing the Municipal Library. There is also a semi-circular fountain at the back of the square and a side fountain dating back to the fifteenth century, characterised by the heads decorating the top band. A legend says that they are the effigies of beheaded individuals and for that it is called “Fonte dei Decapitati” (Beheaded’s Fountain) or “Fontanone” (Big Fountain). We may consider the Pope’s Square as the living room of Ancona, seat of its nightlife, thanks to the numerous cafés, bars and small restaurants. It is always crowded until late evening, especially in summer. If you go to the square, you must stop to have an “apericena”!
THE THEATER OF THE MUSES

It is the largest theatre in the Marche region that combines the ancient neoclassical façade with the modern of its interior, conceived as a theatre-square, making it one of the most modern theatrical structures in Central Italy. Situated in Republic Square, you can recognise it right away thanks to its very nice façade that will not go unnoticed!
THE SENATE’S PALACE, THE FERRETTI PALACE AND THE PALACE OF THE ELDERS.
Coming down the highest place where is located St. Cyriac Cathedral, you reach the Senate’s Square and can admire the eponymous palace. Built in the thirteenth century on the ruins of a Roman forum to house the Senate Council, in all probability the oldest seat of the Town Council. At the corner of the square there is the sixteenth-century Ferretti Palace. Vanvitelli probably designed its facade. It currently houses the National Archaeological Museum of the Marche region, a great museum fully documenting the prehistoric, Picenum, Greek and Roman times. Here you can admire one of the most famous finds of the Picenum civilization: the head of a Piceno warrior, in local limestone, found by chance in Ripe di S. Anna, near Numana, in 1892. The important finding is dated between the middle and the end of the seventh century B.C. The Palace of the Elders is situated in the nearby Stracca Square, built in 1270, today seat of the Town Council. The Roman empress Galla Placidia, who ruled the coastal zone of the Marche region in 425 A.D., commissioned the previous building.
THE MERCHANT’S LOGGIA
It is a thirteenth-century building near the port, where merchants could display merchandise and bargain over sales prices. It is the symbol of the commercial importance of Ancona, centre of trade between East and West. Giorgio di Matteo from Sebenico decorated its facade in flowery Venetian Gothic style.
ST. MARY OF THE SQUARE CHURCH

It is one of the jewels of Ancona in the port area. It was built between the XI and the XII century, upon an early Paleo-Christian church, which remains can be seen through some glass-covered openings in the floor. The interior is quite simple in its architecture and decoration, according to the Romanesque style, but the façade is extremely ornate with Byzantine bas-reliefs, blind arcades and a very nice portal, decorated with many bas-reliefs, symbolically linked with the vine shoot going all around it.
THE F. PODESTI MUNICIPAL PICTURE-GALLERY
Not far from the St. Mary of the Square Church, in Pizzecolli road, there is the sixteenth-century Bosdari Palace, housing the Municipal Picture-Gallery, named after the important painter Francesco Podesti who donated several works to the gallery, giving raise to it. The Madonna con Bambino by Carlo Trivelli, the Vergine con Bambino in Gloria by Titian, the Madonna con Bambino e Santi by Lotto are the works not to miss! Paintings by Andrea del Sarto and Guercino are also in the collection.
THE FONTANA DEL CALAMO

The fountain is popularly called “Fontana delle 13 Cannelle”. The word “cannella” means “tap” in local dialect. Its name refers to the thirteen bronze water sprouts decorated with beautiful masks in the form of the heads of fauns. The fountain and the cistern, from which it took water, were incorporated into the city walls during the Middle Ages. You can visit the cistern only during special events. According to an ancient popular belief “if you drink at the fountain, you will return to Ancona”. So, if you liked this city and its surrounding area, drink at the “cannelle”! After you have drunk and refreshed we suggest you to have a typical “apericena” based on fish at the kiosk “Da Morena”, right next to the fountain, in Corso Mazzini, named Corso Vecchio by locals.
CORSO GARIBALDI, CAVOUR SQUARE, VICTORY AVENUE, WAR MEMORIAL
If you like going shopping we suggest you to take a stroll in Corso Mazzini and Corso Garibaldi that ends in the large Cavour Square, dominated by the statue in honour of Camillo Benso Conte di Cavour, a Piedmontese statesman. The square was built immediately after th unification of Italy and recently renovated. There are centuries-old trees, cobbled paths, meadows, flower beds with arched fences, stone and iron benches, where you can have a rest after shopping. Past Cavour square, you can continue your stroll in the very long Viale della Vittoria. It is a wide avenue with two one-way carriageways for motor traffic and a tree-lined avenue for the exclusive use of pedestrians in the centre. The avenue crosses the modern city and leads to the sea. It ends in Piazza IV Novembre, where there is the War Memorial commemorating those who fell in the First World War. Guido Cirilli designed and built it in Istrian stone during the fascist time. Starting from the square, a monumental double flight of steps leads down to the Passetto beach. You can sit on the steps and admire the panorama of the city, the public green area and the sea on the horizon!
THE CARDETO PARK AND THE CITADEL PARK

The Cardeto Park is one of the green lungs of Ancona, situated high up above the sea. It is a large area of about 35 hectares of nature, historical testimonies and charming views. The park takes its name from the presence of thistle plants, whose seeds are nourishment to the goldfinches. Today there are very few left, both of thistles and of goldfinches, but in spring you can admire images of luxuriant nature and explosion of colourful flowers. The park has five entrances. It includes the “Jews’ Field”, one of the best preserved and the largest Jewish cemeteries in Europe, and the “English Field”, where people of Protestant faith are buried. There is also the old nineteenth-century lighthouse, overlooking the sea and from which you can enjoy a spectacular setting, the Castelfidardo Gunpowder, recently renovated, the bastion of St. Paul, built in the sixteenth century and rich in underground tunnels. You can visit them by appointment. You can also see the Fort Cardeto and the Fort of Cappuccini that give the idea of how the city was walled up and defended in the nineteenth century. Another green lung of Ancona is the Citadel Park, situated inside the walls of the Fortress of the Citadel, an example of Renaissance military architecture, overlooking the city and the harbour. It consists of five bastions. In the basement of the Fortress unfolds a maze of tunnels that are said to reach all parts of the city, but they cannot be visited. You can however access the park area, equipped with benches, slides, swings and games for kids. In summer the park is a very busy place where the locals can take a walk, study outdoor, go jogging or do Nordic walking.
THE FAIR OF ST. CIRIACO, THE PATRON SAINT
It takes place from the 1st to the 4th of May. There are many events: the Fiera Campionaria with items, equipment and services for the person, family and leisure, the Maggio in Festa Fair, more than 400 stalls of various items, of other Italian regions and local gastronomy, street food, street artists, music and live performances.
FESTIVAL OF THE SEA
A festival dedicated to the sea cannot miss in a city owing so much to its beautiful sea. It takes place in September and consists of a long procession on the sea of boats leaving from Ancona harbour and going off to sea to honour the fallen at sea with a religious ceremony. There are performances, parades and concerts on land. A beautiful fireworks show on the sea closes the event.
INTERNATIONAL ADRIATIC MEDITERRANEAN FESTIVAL
The Marche region is one of the regions on the Adriatic and Ionian Sea participating in the Adriatic-Ionian Macro-Region with the common goals of promoting a balanced and sustainable development in this area, of promoting economic growth and prosperity, of improving its attractiveness, competitiveness and connectivity. It also aims to protect the sea, the continental and coast environment and their ecosystems.Between the end of August and the beginning of September there is the Adriatic Mediterranean Festival in Ancona. Numerous artists perform in different places of the town and there are many cultural events: conferences, music, dance, theatre, cinema meetings and exhibitions in a territory that, also thanks to this festival, has discovered its vocation to exchange and confrontation among peoples and cultures linked to the sea.