Cattedrale di San Ciriaco

Ancona Cathedral stands on the summit of Guasco hill, where a Greek temple and an early Christian basilica once stood. Romanesque in structure, with Byzantine and Gothic details, it is dedicated to San Ciriaco, whose relics are linked by tradition to the church's history and the city's spiritual centre.

Why it matters

The cathedral occupies the summit of Ancona's ancient acropolis. Foundations associated with a temple to Venus Euplea lie beneath the site, and a sixth-century basilica dedicated to San Lorenzo preceded the medieval cathedral. The transfer of the relics of San Ciriaco and San Marcellino to the hill is traditionally dated around the year 1000. The church's Greek-cross plan, raised dome and tripartite façade reflect its medieval rebuilding.

What to notice

The Romanesque-Gothic porch stands before the façade, with columns supported by crouching lions. The portal is made from white limestone from Monte Conero, and its red-marble lions hold a serpent and a lamb. Sculpted plants and human figures frame the doorway. Glass panels in the central floor reveal remains associated with the pagan temple and the early Christian basilica below. The left wing contains the monument to Pietro Ghinelli, carved by Giovanni Dalmata in 1509. In the chapel of the Madonna, an elliptical altar aedicula designed by Luigi Vanvitelli in 1739 frames the venerated image. The isolated bell tower may have belonged to the hilltop's defensive system.

Context and history

The hill was once known as the Cumero promontory and later took the name Colle Guasco from Colonel Cesare Guasco, who strengthened its seaward fortifications. Christian worship developed here in successive layers: the basilica of San Lorenzo became the cathedral after the relics of the city's patron arrived, and the medieval rebuilding changed the basilical plan to a Greek cross. Diocesan tradition recounts that San Ciriaco's remains came from Jerusalem and were first buried in the older cathedral of Santo Stefano before being moved to the present church in the tenth century. Excavations ordered in 1979 were interpreted as supporting that tradition. The cathedral became a minor basilica in 1926; the archdiocese became metropolitan in 1972.