Ancona is a city and a seaport in the Marche, a region of central italy, population 101,909 (2005). Ancona is situated on the Adriatic Sea and is the center of the province of Ancona and the capital of the region. The city is located 280 km northeast of rome. The town is finely situated on and between the slopes of the two extremities of the promontory of Monte Conero, Monte Astagno, occupied by the citadel, and Monte Guasco, on which the Duomo stands (150 m). The latter, dedicated to St Judas Cyriacus, is said to occupy the site of a temple of Venus, who is mentioned by Catullus and Juvenal as the tutelary deity of the place.

Main sights
The Cathedral of Ancona, dedicated to St. Ciriaco, was consecrated at the beginning of the 11th century and completed in 1189.[4] Some writers suppose that the original church was in the form of a basilica and belonged to the 7th century. An early restoration was completed in 1234. It is a fine Romanesque building in grey stone, built in the form of a Greek cross, and other elements of Byzantine art. It has a dodecagonal dome over the center slightly altered by Margaritone d'Arezzo in 1270. The façade has a Gothic portal, ascribed to Giorgio da Como (1228), which was intended to have a lateral arch on each side. A cannon situated near the Arch of Trajan, with the Cattedrale San Ciriaco visible in the background A view of St. Ciriaco Cathedral from the port Gothic portal of the church of Sant'Agostino The interior, which has a crypt under each transept, in the main preserves its original character. It has ten columns which are attributed to the temple of Venus, and there are good screens of the 12th century, and other sculptures. The church was carefully restored in the 1980s.