Its origins date back to prehistoric times. Attracted by the safety of the landing, ancient peoples take land and settle (1400 BC). From Sabina the Piceni come, led by the sacred bird to Mars, the Woodpecker. Greek and Etruscan influences make the inhabitants more civilized.
In the year 387 a.C. a colony of Syracuse was established, the Dorians, people of Greek civilization, who bring a breath of more advanced civilization; majestic and robust buildings arise, defensive walls are built around the city. That is why Ancona was called Dorica. Ancona, fierce and populous, rejects the invasion of the Galli-Sènoni, and is allied with Rome and fights alongside the Romans against Hannibal. Emperor Trajan improves the port and fortifications; from Ancona Trajan goes to the victorious war against the Dacians. The Senate and the Roman people perpetuate the event with the beautiful Triumphal Arch, attributed to Apollodorus of Damascus. At the descent of the Longobards he must accept their protection, but when the Franks descend he is placed under the high dominion of the Church. It is then that the region takes the name of Longobardico di Marca.
In 848 the Saracens, defeated in the Otranto Canal by the Veneto-Anconitana fleet, occupy Ancona and destroy it. But the city soon rises again with wonderful vitality and repels two other sieges: of Frederick Barbarossa in 1167 and his lieutenant Christian Archbishop of Mainz flanked by the fleet of Venice. After so much ferocity of wars and struggles, a page of peace: a poor little brother comes from his Umbria to Ancona to embark for the East: it is Saint Francis of Assisi (1219).
Meanwhile, Ancona, now important Maritime Republic, is enriched with its successful trade with the East. Splendid testimonies of this activity are the Cathedral of San Ciriaco, the Palazzo del Senato, the Church of Santa Maria della Piazza, built in simple and harmonious Romanesque style. The architect Giovanni Pace called Sodo, built the Loggia dei Mercanti, whose gothic facade is due to Giorgio de Sebenico, as the portals of Sant’Agostino and San Francesco alle Scale, as well as the facade of the Palazzo Benincasa in via della Loggia. Other artists leave noble marks of their work as the painters Carlo Crivelli, Lorenzo Lotto and Tiziano.
