Ancona

Ancona is a city and a seaport in the Marche, a region of northeastern Italy, population 100,507 (2001). Ancona is situated on the Adriatic Sea and is the center of an eponymous province and the capital of the region.

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The city is located 133 miles northeast of Rome and 127 miles southeast of Bologna.

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The name Ancona means "elbow" (from Greek *ankon 'elbow'), referring to the shape of its geographical position. We can find similar references to the shape of the human body in other cities with similar geo-morphological features, like Genova and Geneva (which names originate from the Proto-Indo-European *genu, meaning 'knee').

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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 (300 feet). 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.

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Marche: This article refers to the Italian region. There are other regions called Marches....

Italy: Italy (Italian: Repubblica Italiana or Italia) is a country in southern Europe. It comprises a boot-shaped peninsula and two large islands in the Mediterranean Sea, Sicily and Sardinia, and shares its northern alpine boundary with France, Switzerland, Austria and Slovenia. The independent countries...

Adriatic Sea: The Adriatic Sea is an arm of the Mediterranean Sea separating the Apennine peninsula (Italy) from the Balkan peninsula, and the system of the Apennine Mountains from that of the Dinaric Alps and adjacent ranges....