Italian city, naval base and ferry port; capital of Marche region, situated on the Adriatic Sea 140 km/87 mi northeast of Rome; population (2001) 100,500. There are shipbuilding, chemical, fishing, and engineering industries here. Ancona has a Romanesque cathedral and a former palace of the popes.
Ancona's harbour is one of the best on the Adriatic; it has a busy port trade, and has been used as a naval base since the 19th century.
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