The Dori, Greek settlers who founded the city of Ancona in 387 B.C.E., settled here because of the possibilities offered by its natural port. The coast here bends around in an elbow shape, hence the name Ancona (the Greek word for elbow being ankon), offering seafarers natural shelter from the sea. In the 3rd century B.C.E., the gulf was used by the Picentes to trade with the Greeks.
In Roman times, the port was expanded considerably, mostly by Emperor Trajan, with the Senate and the Roman people building a triumphal arch near the port in his honour. The Saracens plundered the city in the 9th century and destroyed the port, but it was rebuilt and fortified from the 11th century when the city became a Medieval commune and later a marine republic.
In the centuries that followed, with the discovery of America and the shifting of marine traffic from the Mediterranean to the Atlantic, the port fell into dramatic decline until Pope Clement XII decided to grant free-trade status and fund the construction of the Lazzaretto (Mole Vanvitelliana).
Bombing during the two World Wars seriously damaged Ancona and its harbour area, which was rebuilt in the following years.
Today the Port of Ancona registers the highest seabound vehicle and passenger traffic (mostly ferries headed for Eastern Europe) in Italy, is one of the six largest container ports in the Adriatic and among the biggest fishing ports in Italy.
Marche Film Commission — Fondazione Marche Cultura
Piazza Cavour 23 — 60121 Ancona
Phone: +39 071 9951 623/624/625
Email: silvia.pincini@fondazionemarchecultura.it
