Ancona, Italy

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at Falconara) and a developing port: ferry services to Yugoslavia and Greece and the growing fishing industry mean a considerable economic upswing in recent years. The making of musical instruments contributes to this.

History

Ancona was founded by refugees from Syracuse about 390 B.C. under the name of Dorica Ancon (from the Greek word ankón = bend or curve, after the shape of the promontory on which the town was built). In the third century B.C. it became a Roman colony, and in the reigns of Caesar and Trajan it was fortified and developed into a naval base. Although the town was presented to the Pope by Charlemagne in 774 and at the end of the 16th century was formally incorporated in the Papal States, it contrived in practice to maintain its independence throughout the Middle Ages. Ancona has been the seat of a bishop since 462.