Under the Papal Government
With the fall of Rhodes, the Turkish threat became ever more dangerous. The Pope offered Ancona the chance to fortify the city at his expense. It was Antonio da Sangallo who enlarged the mighty Citadel on Astagno (1532), on the orders of Clement VII. This imposing construction marked the end of the free Commune of Ancona. The rivalry and struggle for predominance between the cities was becoming ever stronger: Venice in particular was making the weight of its power felt; Muslim piracy was making the sea-coasts dangerous; the Roman pontificate, on the other hand, seemed to offer an assurance of adequate protection and security: these were perhaps some of the reasons why the inhabitants of Ancona did not oppose the new dominion with their usual pride.
Besides, the city was undergoing a fairly bleak and depressed period between the end of the seventeenth century and the first decades of the eighteenth: maritime trade was languishing, and the industries were consequently almost paralysed. But the shipyard, the tanning of hides, and the processing of wool, rope and sugar did have moments of intensive production and high levels of exports. Fortunately, Pope Clement XII (Lorenzo Corsini) contributed to the renaissance of the city by granting it free port status in 1732, and enriching it with some very remarkable works: the architect Vanvitelli designed and built the Lazaret, planned the reorganisation of the entire port, built the Clementine Arch, and enlarged the Chiesa del Gesù and rebuilt the façade.
The economic renaissance made possible a remarkable wave of restorations and new works. Filippo Marchionni later built the monumental Porta Pia in honour of Pope Pius VI. In 1797 Ancona was occupied by the French; Napoleon Bonaparte was a guest of the city, and wanted the picture of the Madonna from the cathedral to be brought to him, having heard that the image had miraculously moved its eyes. Two years later the Austrians heavily besieged the city and took it from the French, who however re-occupied it in 1801. Contact with the French sowed the seeds of a fruitful love of liberty, and the first War of Independence saw many Ancona citizens in the ranks of the combatants. So tenacious and strenuous was the resistance that the city offered to the Austrians in 1849 that it merited the gold medal for military valour. In the second War of Independence, hundreds of volunteers from Ancona rushed to the battlefields in Lombardy. The expedition of the Thousand witnessed the heroism of the Anconan Augusto Elia, who made a shield of his own body to protect Garibaldi and received a projectile in the throat. On 18 September 1860, General Cialdini beat the papal forces at Castelfidardo; the defeated General Lamoricière took refuge with a few dozen cavalry in our city, but for only a few days. In fact on 28 September, Admiral Persano's fleet opened fire on the Lanterna on the North Mole. The frigate Vittorio Emanuele launched a broadside against the fort at close range, and hit the powder magazine through a window. The Lanterna blew up, burying the 125 artillerymen who were defending it.
The surrender was signed and General Fanti entered Ancona on 29 September with the Italian troops. Ten years previously, Francesco Podesti (1800-1895) had painted the grandiose picture for the Commune of "The Anconans taking the Oath". The same artist was summoned to the Vatican by Pope Pius IX to paint a series of frescoes on the glories of the Immaculate Conception.
Besides, the city was undergoing a fairly bleak and depressed period between the end of the seventeenth century and the first decades of the eighteenth: maritime trade was languishing, and the industries were consequently almost paralysed. But the shipyard, the tanning of hides, and the processing of wool, rope and sugar did have moments of intensive production and high levels of exports. Fortunately, Pope Clement XII (Lorenzo Corsini) contributed to the renaissance of the city by granting it free port status in 1732, and enriching it with some very remarkable works: the architect Vanvitelli designed and built the Lazaret, planned the reorganisation of the entire port, built the Clementine Arch, and enlarged the Chiesa del Gesù and rebuilt the façade.
The economic renaissance made possible a remarkable wave of restorations and new works. Filippo Marchionni later built the monumental Porta Pia in honour of Pope Pius VI. In 1797 Ancona was occupied by the French; Napoleon Bonaparte was a guest of the city, and wanted the picture of the Madonna from the cathedral to be brought to him, having heard that the image had miraculously moved its eyes. Two years later the Austrians heavily besieged the city and took it from the French, who however re-occupied it in 1801. Contact with the French sowed the seeds of a fruitful love of liberty, and the first War of Independence saw many Ancona citizens in the ranks of the combatants. So tenacious and strenuous was the resistance that the city offered to the Austrians in 1849 that it merited the gold medal for military valour. In the second War of Independence, hundreds of volunteers from Ancona rushed to the battlefields in Lombardy. The expedition of the Thousand witnessed the heroism of the Anconan Augusto Elia, who made a shield of his own body to protect Garibaldi and received a projectile in the throat. On 18 September 1860, General Cialdini beat the papal forces at Castelfidardo; the defeated General Lamoricière took refuge with a few dozen cavalry in our city, but for only a few days. In fact on 28 September, Admiral Persano's fleet opened fire on the Lanterna on the North Mole. The frigate Vittorio Emanuele launched a broadside against the fort at close range, and hit the powder magazine through a window. The Lanterna blew up, burying the 125 artillerymen who were defending it.
The surrender was signed and General Fanti entered Ancona on 29 September with the Italian troops. Ten years previously, Francesco Podesti (1800-1895) had painted the grandiose picture for the Commune of "The Anconans taking the Oath". The same artist was summoned to the Vatican by Pope Pius IX to paint a series of frescoes on the glories of the Immaculate Conception.
