Province of Ancona

Province of Ancona

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Province of Ancona

The Province of Ancona () is a province in the Marche region of central Italy. Its capital is the city of Ancona. The province has an area of 1940 km² and a 2006 population of 465,906 in 49 comuni (http://www.upinet.it/indicatore.asp?id_statistiche=6), see Comunes of the Province of Ancona.

Map of the province of Ancona.

The province extends from the coast of the Adriatic Sea west to the Apennines, its relief becoming steadily higher and more mountainous. Its population is mostly concentrated near the coast, and the city of Ancona, its capital, accounts for nearly a quarter of it; the other principal towns are Castelfidardo, Chiaravalle, Fabriano, Falconara Marittima, Jesi, Loreto, Osimo, and Senigallia.

The coastal strip of the province is given over to sandy beaches popular among Italians rather than foreigners; moving inland, the central portion is an area of rolling farmland, producing red and white wines mainly of the Sangiovese, Montepulciano and Verdicchio grape varieties; the mountain zone is densely forested, and its most famous agricultural product is the black truffle, the main market for which, however, is in Acqualagna just across the border in the province of Pesaro e Urbino.

Famous natives of the province of Ancona include the painter Gentile da Fabriano, born in Fabriano; composer Gaspare Spontini, born in Maiolati, now named after him Maiolati Spontini; Vito Volterra (Ancona); Pope Leo XII (Genga, although a minority opinion holds he was born in the Umbrian town of Spoleto); Pope Pius IX (Senigallia); and Maria Montessori (Chiaravalle).