Experience the best of Ancona

Ancona was founded by Greek settlers from Syracuse about 390 BC, who named it after the elbow-shaped headland that shelters its harbour. The cathedral of San Ciriaco, a Romanesque and Byzantine church, crowns the Guasco hill above the port. Down by the water, the white Arch of Trajan, raised in AD 115 to honour the emperor for his harbour works, stands on the quay, and the five-sided Lazzaretto, an eighteenth-century quarantine building, projects into the harbour.

A seaside promenade runs below the cliffs of the Passetto, and the National Archaeological Museum of the Marche has finds from the region. South of the city, Monte Conero rises from the sea with white cliffs and coves such as Portonovo and Sirolo, in a regional park. The sanctuary of Loreto, the Frasassi caves and Urbino's Renaissance palace lie within a day trip.

Stoccafisso all'anconetana, stockfish stewed with potatoes, tomatoes and olives, is the signature dish, with brodetto fish stew and mussels from the Conero coast. Verdicchio, a dry white wine, comes from the hills inland, and Rosso Conero is the local red. Summer is warm and busy with ferries, while spring and autumn are mild.