The best city hikes and walks around Parco regionale del Conero

The Ancona Herb Market is an Art Nouveau style structure built in 1926 to a design by municipal engineer Federico Federiconi. The structure, made of iron and cast iron, was conceived to provide a roof for the market that was already held in Piazza delle Erbe. The work was carried out by shipyard workers, using, in part, metal from Austrian ships ceded to Italy as compensation for damages from World War I; among them was the battleship SMS Erzherzog Franz Ferdinand which had struck the city. A century later, it still retains its original purpose as a covered market serving the city's four central districts, whose boundaries intersect in the nearby Piazza Roma. All of this constitutes a vast hub animated by about two hundred operators. The main facade has a palmette crowning and bears the inscription MERCATO PUBBLICO, which arches over a double scallop shell of Saint James; above the entrance, a depressed arch, is a clock surmounted by the civic coat of arms and flanked by two cornucopias overflowing with fruit, symbols of abundance. Above the side entrances, the construction date of the building can be seen: ANNO 1926. In January 2024, the long restoration work began.

It was restored in 1999.

Renovation time

The Church of Santa Maria della Piazza is an example of particular significance both for its architectural value and for its testimonial value regarding the origins of Christianity in the city of Ancona. Built at the end of the 12th century on the remains of the church dedicated to Saint Stephen, the first Christian martyr whose relic is preserved in the Diocesan Museum, it represents the historical continuity of the Christian religion expressed through the monuments that have come down to us and is at the same time a document of the evolving history of the city. The Church is a jewel of Romanesque architecture: it has a rectangular plan, a Latin cross layout, and is divided into three naves. The bell tower originally had a strategic function, being a tower attached to the fortification that connected to the hill behind. The richly ornamented portal strikes with the movement and fine interweaving of the small arches and pilasters. After the consolidation work initiated following the earthquake of 1972, it seems possible to connect the history of this church to the most ancient memories of Christian worship in Ancona between the 2nd and 4th centuries, identifying its title with that of the very ancient basilica dedicated to the protomartyr Stephen, built on the ruins of imperial buildings from the Trajanic era.

Municipal seat of the city until 1947, and from 2007 to the present day, the Palazzo degli Anziani is located in Piazza Benvenuto Stracca. It boasts very ancient origins, dating back to 425 AD, as the seat of the Roman imperial administration. This first building was seriously damaged in 839 during the Saracen invasion. The current building was erected in Gothic style in 1270, based on a design by Margaritone d'Arezzo. Built on a very steep slope, it has a rather particular architectural structure, leaning against the slope and originally having six floors towards the port and only three towards the hill. It has two main facades, one western, facing the sea, and the other eastern, facing the square in front. While the facade towards the port largely retains its original form, the upper one, which was entirely made of Conero limestone, was modified during the 17th century. During the terrible fire of 1348, which destroyed large areas of the city, the Palace was seriously compromised. With the papal rule, recovery work was finally carried out to readapt it as the seat of the city administration. After repairing the damage from World War II, the palace first became the seat of the Civic Art Gallery, then the seat of the Faculty of Economics and Commerce of the University of Ancona. After the completion of the latest interior renovations, on November 21, 2011, the city council returned to meet again within the ancient palace.

Returning the port is worth seeing

A must-see place

The attraction for two euros is quite ok.