Identity: regional capital, San Ciriaco, the Doric port
Ancona is the capital of the Marche region and of the Province of Ancona, seat of the regional offices and the Prefecture. The patron saint is San Ciriaco, city holiday on 4 May with its fair. The Ancona dialect is a transitional speech between Gallo-Italic and central varieties. The port, founded by Greeks from Syracuse, is the historic core of the city.
Sections: Geography · History · Population · Languages · Time zone · Public holidays
Municipality, province, region
Ancona is governed by an elected mayor and city council; the municipal territory includes the hill and coastal hamlets (Portonovo, Poggio, Varano, Montesicuro, Candia and others) but is not divided into municipi or districts with elected bodies. It is the capital of the Province of Ancona, a second-tier authority, and of the Marche Region: Palazzo Raffaello and the other regional offices, the Prefecture, the Questura, the regional hospital and the Marche Chamber of Commerce are based in the city. For regional services and specialist health care Ancona is the reference for the whole region.
San Ciriaco and anniversaries
The patron saint is San Ciriaco, bishop of Jerusalem whose remains are kept in the Cathedral on the Guasco hill; the city holiday is 4 May, with the San Ciriaco Fair along viale della Vittoria and the corso and the closure of municipal offices. Other traditions: the Festa del Mare in September, the opera and concert season at the Mole Vanvitelliana and the Teatro delle Muse, and the Adriatico Mediterraneo Festival. The city's name comes from the Greek ankon, "elbow", for the shape of the promontory sheltering the harbour: Ancona was founded by Greek settlers from Syracuse in the fourth century BC and is therefore called the "Doric city".
Dialect and character
Anconetano is a border dialect: it belongs to the central Marche varieties but has northern features (dropped vowels, pronunciation) that distinguish it from the Macerata and Piceno dialects. Regional Italian is understandable to everyone. The city has a maritime and port culture, open by necessity towards the other shore of the Adriatic, and a long tradition of foreign communities linked to the port and the shipyards.
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Updated: 2026-10-14
Updated: 2026-10-14
Updated: 2026-10-14
Reviewed: 10/23/2026 · by piero.avolio · rev. 1 · Period: → 2027-10-31
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