The Marine Republic
In 848 the Saracens, having beaten the Venetian-Anconan fleet in the Otranto channel, occupied Ancona and destroyed it. The Arch of Trajan was despoiled of the statues and bronzes which adorned it. But the city soon rose again with amazing vitality.
Already in 1137 it was capable of sustaining a victorious siege against Lothar III and of repulsing another two sieges: by Frederick Barbarossa in 1167; and by his lieutenant Christian, Archbishop of Magonza, supported by the Venetian fleet, in 1174. The siege lasted from 1st April till mid-October. In this last siege, the longest and most painful, the strong and courageous temper of the Anconan people shone out. The young widow Stamira, in an extremely bold sortie, ran out to set fire to a barrel of inflammable material, causing one of the enemy's mobile towers to catch fire. A priest, one Giovanni da Chiò (Claudio), threw himself into the water of the port in a storm, and used an axe to cut the hawser of the flagship of the Venetian fleet, allied to Barbarossa, causing several enemy ships to sink. Allied forces, led by Guglielmo Marcheselli d'Este of Ferrara and by the countess of Bertinoro Aldruda Frangipani, effected the liberation of the city.
After so many ferocious wars and struggles, a page of peace in the book of Ancona's history. A poor friar comes to the city from his native Umbria to embark for the East: it is St Francis of Assisi (1219).
Meanwhile Ancona, which had by now become an important Marine Republic, grew rich on its thriving trade with the East. The witnesses to this activity are the magnificent buildings which survive from this period: the Cathedral of San Ciriaco, the Senate Palace, the church of Santa Maria della Piazza, all built in a simple and harmonious Romanesque style. With the coming of the poor friar, a Franciscan friary arose on Astagno (which later became a military hospital). Discord within the city weakened the defences, and made it possible for Malatesta to erect the fortress of San Cataldo on Colle dei Cappuccini, and later for Cardinal Albornoz to commission Ugolino di Montemarte to enlarge and strengthen it. The Anconans were in a good position in their negotiations with the Church to regain possession of the Fortress, but the castellan Ferrante da Moggia declared that he was holding it in the name of the anti-Pope Clement. It took a long siege, but finally, in 1383, the fortress was taken and destroyed.
On this occasion the Senate of Ancona received the warmest of eulogies from the Priori delle Arti and the Gonfalonieri di Giustizia of the people of Florence (representing the guilds and the political authority): "Dearest friends, you have finally shaken off the yoke of your servitude with which the garrison of the impregnable fortress was weighing you down! O men who give off the odour of the virtues of your forefathers! O true Italians!" The Anconans are proud defenders of their native liberties, but they are also skilled workers, shrewd traders and capable seafarers. When Pope Urban V, who was then living in Avignon, re-entered Italy, among the many ships from the cities on the seaboard which came to meet him was one Anconan galley, and it was on this that he embarked to undertake his journey. The chronicler Oddo di Biagio tells us: "The galley was made in Ancona, so large and of such a length that the like was never seen, with cells and rooms painted and adorned as if they were chambers in palaces. And it was equipped with sailors and oarsmen from Ancona" (1367). An honorific preference was also accorded to another galley, commanded by the Anconan Nicolò di Bartolomeo Toroglioni, when Pope Gregory XI finally brought the papal court back from France to Italy, in 1377. Indeed the chronicles are rich with stories of the pride of the people of Ancona. Galeazzo Malatesta, in 1413, attempted an assault on Capodimonte; but the prompt and vigorous defence repulsed the enemy, who left behind hundreds of dead and prisoners. Among the valorous defenders we should mention Ciriaco Pizzecolli, a profound student of the ancient world, considered the founder of archaeology. Francesco Sforza, too, tried to gain the city by treachery; but his spies were discovered, tied up in sacks and thrown into the sea with rocks attached to their necks. The Sforzas were the originators of the saying: "Ancona is for drinking, not for eating" (1443).
Another proof of the importance of the port is the Crusade promised by Pope Pius II (Aeneas Silvius Piccolomini): the Pope came here with the entire pontifical court to meet the fleet of the Christian powers, which was to free the seas from the violence and robbery wrought by the Muslim corsairs. Except that the Pope died and the Turks continued to rule the seas (1464). It was precisely in this period that the city was enriching itself with palaces and works of art. The architect Giovanni Pace, known as Sodo, built the Loggia dei Mercanti, whose Gothic façade is the work of Giorgio da Sebenico. Giorgio da Sebenico was also responsible for the doorways of Sant'Agostino and of San Francesco alle Scale, as well as the façade of Palazzo Benincasa in Via della Loggia. Other artists have left noble work behind them: Francesco Martini of Siena, the masters Pietro and Matteo di Anongiacomo and the painter Melozzo da Forlì, in what used to be Palazzo degli Anziani and is now the Prefecture; Marino di Marco Cedrino from Venice, one of the architects of the Basilica at Loreto, in the doorway of the Chiesa della Misericordia; and the painters Carlo Crivelli, Lorenzo Lotto and Titian, all from the Veneto, in numerous marvellous works. Later, Pellegrino Tibaldi frescoed the inside of the Loggia dei Mercanti, designed the Fountain of the Thirteen Channels, and painted a salon in the Palazzo Ferretti agli Scalzi; and Andrea Lilli from Ancona painted numerous well-respected pictures which still hang in the city's Art Gallery.
Already in 1137 it was capable of sustaining a victorious siege against Lothar III and of repulsing another two sieges: by Frederick Barbarossa in 1167; and by his lieutenant Christian, Archbishop of Magonza, supported by the Venetian fleet, in 1174. The siege lasted from 1st April till mid-October. In this last siege, the longest and most painful, the strong and courageous temper of the Anconan people shone out. The young widow Stamira, in an extremely bold sortie, ran out to set fire to a barrel of inflammable material, causing one of the enemy's mobile towers to catch fire. A priest, one Giovanni da Chiò (Claudio), threw himself into the water of the port in a storm, and used an axe to cut the hawser of the flagship of the Venetian fleet, allied to Barbarossa, causing several enemy ships to sink. Allied forces, led by Guglielmo Marcheselli d'Este of Ferrara and by the countess of Bertinoro Aldruda Frangipani, effected the liberation of the city.
After so many ferocious wars and struggles, a page of peace in the book of Ancona's history. A poor friar comes to the city from his native Umbria to embark for the East: it is St Francis of Assisi (1219).
Meanwhile Ancona, which had by now become an important Marine Republic, grew rich on its thriving trade with the East. The witnesses to this activity are the magnificent buildings which survive from this period: the Cathedral of San Ciriaco, the Senate Palace, the church of Santa Maria della Piazza, all built in a simple and harmonious Romanesque style. With the coming of the poor friar, a Franciscan friary arose on Astagno (which later became a military hospital). Discord within the city weakened the defences, and made it possible for Malatesta to erect the fortress of San Cataldo on Colle dei Cappuccini, and later for Cardinal Albornoz to commission Ugolino di Montemarte to enlarge and strengthen it. The Anconans were in a good position in their negotiations with the Church to regain possession of the Fortress, but the castellan Ferrante da Moggia declared that he was holding it in the name of the anti-Pope Clement. It took a long siege, but finally, in 1383, the fortress was taken and destroyed.
On this occasion the Senate of Ancona received the warmest of eulogies from the Priori delle Arti and the Gonfalonieri di Giustizia of the people of Florence (representing the guilds and the political authority): "Dearest friends, you have finally shaken off the yoke of your servitude with which the garrison of the impregnable fortress was weighing you down! O men who give off the odour of the virtues of your forefathers! O true Italians!" The Anconans are proud defenders of their native liberties, but they are also skilled workers, shrewd traders and capable seafarers. When Pope Urban V, who was then living in Avignon, re-entered Italy, among the many ships from the cities on the seaboard which came to meet him was one Anconan galley, and it was on this that he embarked to undertake his journey. The chronicler Oddo di Biagio tells us: "The galley was made in Ancona, so large and of such a length that the like was never seen, with cells and rooms painted and adorned as if they were chambers in palaces. And it was equipped with sailors and oarsmen from Ancona" (1367). An honorific preference was also accorded to another galley, commanded by the Anconan Nicolò di Bartolomeo Toroglioni, when Pope Gregory XI finally brought the papal court back from France to Italy, in 1377. Indeed the chronicles are rich with stories of the pride of the people of Ancona. Galeazzo Malatesta, in 1413, attempted an assault on Capodimonte; but the prompt and vigorous defence repulsed the enemy, who left behind hundreds of dead and prisoners. Among the valorous defenders we should mention Ciriaco Pizzecolli, a profound student of the ancient world, considered the founder of archaeology. Francesco Sforza, too, tried to gain the city by treachery; but his spies were discovered, tied up in sacks and thrown into the sea with rocks attached to their necks. The Sforzas were the originators of the saying: "Ancona is for drinking, not for eating" (1443).
Another proof of the importance of the port is the Crusade promised by Pope Pius II (Aeneas Silvius Piccolomini): the Pope came here with the entire pontifical court to meet the fleet of the Christian powers, which was to free the seas from the violence and robbery wrought by the Muslim corsairs. Except that the Pope died and the Turks continued to rule the seas (1464). It was precisely in this period that the city was enriching itself with palaces and works of art. The architect Giovanni Pace, known as Sodo, built the Loggia dei Mercanti, whose Gothic façade is the work of Giorgio da Sebenico. Giorgio da Sebenico was also responsible for the doorways of Sant'Agostino and of San Francesco alle Scale, as well as the façade of Palazzo Benincasa in Via della Loggia. Other artists have left noble work behind them: Francesco Martini of Siena, the masters Pietro and Matteo di Anongiacomo and the painter Melozzo da Forlì, in what used to be Palazzo degli Anziani and is now the Prefecture; Marino di Marco Cedrino from Venice, one of the architects of the Basilica at Loreto, in the doorway of the Chiesa della Misericordia; and the painters Carlo Crivelli, Lorenzo Lotto and Titian, all from the Veneto, in numerous marvellous works. Later, Pellegrino Tibaldi frescoed the inside of the Loggia dei Mercanti, designed the Fountain of the Thirteen Channels, and painted a salon in the Palazzo Ferretti agli Scalzi; and Andrea Lilli from Ancona painted numerous well-respected pictures which still hang in the city's Art Gallery.
