Ancona

The Gulf of Patras (Greek: Πατραϊκός Κόλπος, Patraikós Kólpos) is a branch of the Ionian Sea in Western Greece. On the east, it is closed by the Strait of Rion between capes Rio and Antirrio, near the Rio-Antirrio bridge, that is the entrance of the Gulf of Corinth. On the west, it is bounded by a line from Oxeia island to Cape Araxos. To the north it is bounded by the shore of Aetolia-Acarnania in continental Greece, and to the south by Achaea in the Peloponnese peninsula. It is 40–50 km (25–31 mi) long, 10–20 km (6–12 mi) wide, and has an area of 350–400 km.

The port city of Patras lies to the southeast and is the only major port on the gulf. It serves ferries to Ancona and Brindisi in Italy and to Cephalonia. On the northern shore Missolonghi, also has a port. The old ports of Rio and Antirrio lie at the east end of the Gulf; there is a ferry service between them which complements the traffic over the Rio-Antirio bridge. The gulf is rich in fish and molluscs, including sea snails and clams.

The Picentes or Piceni or Picentini were an ancient Italic people who lived from the 9th to the 3rd century BC in the area between the Foglia and Aterno rivers, bordered to the west by the Apennines and to the east by the Adriatic coast. Their territory, known as Picenum, therefore included all of today's Marche and the northern part of Abruzzo. Recently, a genome-wide archaeogenetic study of individuals from two Picene necropoleis found that all the individuals associated with this culture display genetic continuity with earlier populations.

The limits of Picenum depend on the era; during the early classical antiquity the region between the Apennines and the Adriatic Sea south of Ancona was Picenum (South Picenians), while between Ancona and Rimini to the north the population was multi-ethnic (North Picenians) because after 390 BC the Senoni Gauls had combined with or supplanted earlier populations. In the Roman Republic the coastal part of northern Picenum was called the ager Gallicus.

The Republic of Ancona was a medieval commune and maritime republic on the Adriatic coast of modern-day Italy, notable for its economic development and maritime trade, particularly with the Byzantine Empire and Eastern Mediterranean, although somewhat confined by Venetian supremacy on the sea. It enjoyed excellent relations with the Kingdom of Hungary, was an ally of the Republic of Ragusa, and maintained good relations with the Ottoman Empire. All these relationships enabled it to serve as central Italy's gateway to the Orient.

Included in the Papal States since 774, Ancona came under the influence of the Holy Roman Empire around 1000, but gradually gained independence to become fully independent with the coming of the communes in the 11th century, under the high jurisdiction of the papal state. Its motto was Ancon dorica civitas fidei ('Dorian Ancona, city of faith'), referencing the Greek foundation of the city.

Marche (/ˈmɑːrkeɪ/ MAR-kay, Italian: [ˈmarke] ), in English sometimes referred to as the Marches (/ˈmɑːrtʃɪz/ MAR-chiz), is one of the twenty regions of Italy. The region is located in the central area of the country, and has a population of nearly 1.5 million people, being the thirteenth largest region in the country by number of inhabitants. The region's capital and largest city is Ancona.

The Marche region is bordered by Emilia-Romagna and the republic of San Marino to the north, Tuscany and Umbria to the west, Lazio to the southwest, Abruzzo to the south, and the Adriatic Sea to the east. Except for river valleys and the often very narrow coastal strip, the land is hilly. A railway from Bologna to Brindisi, built in the 19th century, runs along the coast of the entire territory. Inland, the mountainous nature of the region, even today, allows relatively little travel north and south, except by twisting roads over the passes.

The Senones or Senonii (Gaulish: "the ancient ones") were an ancient Gallic tribe dwelling in the Seine basin, around present-day Sens, during the Iron Age and the Roman period.

Part of the Senones settled in the Italian peninsula, where they ousted the Umbrians between Ariminum (modern-day Rimini) and Ancona. According to later Roman accounts, they were the leaders of the Gallic war-band that captured Rome during the Battle of the Allia in 390 BC. They remained a constant threat until Rome eventually subjugated them in 283 BC, after which they disappeared from history.

The province of Ancona (Italian: provincia di Ancona) is a province in the Marche region of Italy. Its capital is the city of Ancona, and the province borders the Adriatic Sea. The city of Ancona is also the capital of Marche.

To the north, the province is bordered by the Adriatic Sea, and the Apennine Mountains to the west. The population of the province is mostly located in coastal areas and in the provincial capital Ancona, which has a population of 101,518; the province has a total population of 477,892 as of 2015.

Monte Conero (Italian pronunciation: [ˈmonte ˈkɔːnero]) or Mount Conero, also known as Monte d'Ancona (Mount of Ancona), is a promontory in Italy, situated directly south of the port of Ancona on the Adriatic Sea.

Mount Conero is 572 m (1,877 feet) high and it is the only coastal high point on the Adriatic sea between Trieste and the Gargano massif in the region of Apulia.

The Via Flaminia (lit. 'Flaminian Way') was an ancient Roman road leading from Rome over the Apennine Mountains to Ariminum (Rimini) on the coast of the Adriatic Sea, and due to the ruggedness of the mountains was the major option the Romans had for travel between Etruria, Latium, Campania, and the Po Valley. The section running through northern Rome is where Constantine the Great, allegedly, had his famous vision of the Chi Rho, leading to his conversion to Christianity and the Christianization of the Roman Empire.

Today the same route, still called by the same name for much of its distance, is paralleled or overlaid by Strada Statale (SS) 3, also called Strada Regionale (SR) 3 in Lazio and Umbria, and Strada Provinciale (SP) 3 in Marche. It leaves Rome, goes up the Val Tevere ("Valley of the Tiber") and into the mountains at Castello delle Formiche, ascends to Gualdo Tadino, continuing over the divide at Scheggia Pass, 575 m (1,886 ft) to Cagli. From there it descends the eastern slope waterways between the Tuscan-Emilian Apennines and the Umbrian Apennines to Fano on the coast and goes north, parallel to Highway A14 to Rimini.

Pesaro (Italian: [ˈpeːzaro] ; Romagnol: Pés're) is a comune (municipality) in the Italian region of Marche, capital of the province of Pesaro and Urbino, on the Adriatic Sea. According to the 2011 census, its population was 95,011, making it the second most populous city in the Marche, after Ancona. Pesaro was dubbed the "Cycling City" (città della bicicletta) by the Italian environmentalist association Legambiente in recognition of its extensive network of bicycle paths and promotion of cycling. It is also known as "City of Music" (città della musica), for it is the birthplace of the composer Gioachino Rossini. In 2015 the Italian Government applied for Pesaro to be declared a "Creative City" in UNESCO's World Heritage Sites. In 2017 Pesaro received the European City of Sport award together with Aosta, Cagliari and Vicenza.

Local industries include fishing, furniture making and tourism. In 2020 it absorbed the former comune of Monteciccardo, now a frazione of Pesaro. Its frazione of Fiorenzuola di Focara is one of I Borghi più belli d'Italia ("The most beautiful villages of Italy").

Fano (Italian: [ˈfaːno]) is a coastal city and comune of the province of Pesaro and Urbino in the Marche region of Italy located 12 kilometres (7 miles) southeast of Pesaro at the point where the Via Flaminia reaches the Adriatic Sea. As of 2021, it has a population of approximately 59,000, smaller than Ancona and Pesaro.

The Autostrada A14 or Autostrada Adriatica ("Adriatic motorway") is the second-longest (743.4 kilometres (461.9 mi)) autostrada (Italian for "motorway") in Italy located in the regions of Emilia-Romagna, Marche, Abruzzo, Molise and Apulia. It is a part of the E45, E55 and E843 European routes.

Its northern end is Bologna (where it branches off the Autostrada A1) and its southern ending is at Taranto. The motorway stretches along the entire Adriatic coast. Inaugurated in 1965, it connects to Rimini, Riccione, Cattolica, Pesaro, Ancona, Civitanova Marche, San Benedetto del Tronto, Pescara, Vasto, Termoli, Foggia and Bari.

Cupra Marittima (Latin: Cupra Maritima) is in the Province of Ascoli Piceno in the Italian region Marche, located about 70 km (43 mi) southeast of Ancona and about 30 km (19 mi) northeast of Ascoli Piceno.

Urbania is a comune (municipality) in the Province of Pesaro e Urbino in the Italian region of Marche, located about 80 kilometres (50 mi) west of Ancona and about 40 kilometres (25 mi) southwest of Pesaro, next to the river Metauro.

Urbania borders the following municipalities: Acqualagna, Apecchio, Cagli, Fermignano, Peglio, Piobbico, Sant'Angelo in Vado, Urbino.

Belforte all'Isauro is a comune (municipality) in the Province of Pesaro e Urbino in the Italian region Marche, located about 90 kilometres (56 mi) west of Ancona and about 50 kilometres (31 mi) southwest of Pesaro.

Belforte all'Isauro borders the following municipalities: Carpegna, Piandimeleto, Sant'Angelo in Vado, Sestino.

Piandimeleto is a comune (municipality) in the Province of Pesaro e Urbino in the Italian region Marche, located about 90 kilometres (56 mi) west of Ancona and about 45 kilometres (28 mi) southwest of Pesaro.

Piandimeleto borders the following municipalities: Belforte all'Isauro, Carpegna, Frontino, Lunano, Macerata Feltria, Pietrarubbia, Sant'Angelo in Vado, Sassocorvaro Auditore, Sestino, Urbino. Its territory is included in the Sasso Simone and Simoncello Regional Park. The Foglia river flows near the town.

Sassocorvaro is a frazione of the comune (municipality) of Sassocorvaro Auditore in the Province of Pesaro e Urbino in the Italian region Marche, located 80 kilometres (50 mi) west of Ancona and about 35 kilometres (22 mi) southwest of Pesaro. It was a separate comune until 31 December 2018.

Montecalvo in Foglia is a comune (municipality) in the Province of Pesaro e Urbino in the Italian region Marche, located about 70 kilometres (43 mi) northwest of Ancona and about 25 kilometres (16 mi) southwest of Pesaro.

Montecalvo in Foglia borders the following municipalities: Mondaino, Tavullia, Urbino, Vallefoglia.

Montelabbate is a comune (municipality) in the Province of Pesaro e Urbino in the Italian region Marche, located about 60 kilometres (37 mi) northwest of Ancona and about 12 kilometres (7 mi) southwest of Pesaro.

Montelabbate borders the following municipalities: Colbordolo, Pesaro, Sant'Angelo in Lizzola, Tavullia, Urbino, Vallefoglia.

Tavullia is a comune (municipality) in the Province of Pesaro and Urbino in the Marche region of Italy, located about 70 kilometres (43 mi) northwest of Ancona and about 15 kilometres (9 mi) southwest of Pesaro. Until 13 December 1938, it was known as Tomba di Pesaro.

Tavullia is the home town of nine-time world motorcycle champion Valentino Rossi. His family built a dirt oval racetrack close to the town. The town is considered by some to be part of the historical region of Romagna.