Ancona Cathedral, also known as San Chiriako - is the main church of Ancona, the capital of the Italian region of Marche. The Cathedral is dedicated to Judas Kyriakou that the name implies.

The building of the cathedral, located on a hill Guasko which towers over Ancona and the bay - is an example of mixing the Roman-Byzantine and Gothic styles. It stands on the site of an ancient Greek acropolis. Excavations carried out here in 1948, found that about in the 3rd century BC on the site of the present cathedral was a temple presumably dedicated to Aphrodite. In the 6th century BC its foundation was built early Christian church, which had a central nave and three aisles. Entrance to the church is located in the south-eastern side, where there is the Chapel of the Crucifixion. To this day preserved some fragments of the early Christian church, for example, mosaic flooring and exterior walls.

In the 995-1015-m years. on the foundation of the old church was built new, which in 1017, the year moved the relics of saints Marcellinus of Ancona and Judah Kyriakos. In the 12-13 th centuries the cathedral he built, giving it the shape of a Greek cross. At the same church, before bearing the name of San Lorenzo, it was in honor of the martyr pereosvyaschena Judas Kyriakos, the patron saint of Ancona and the first bishop of the city.

The first restoration work carried out in the cathedral in 1883, the year. During the First World War, the basilica was seriously damaged during the bombing, and was restored only in 1920. And during World War II during an air raid on the city have been destroyed, and the transept of the church with the crypt are stored in their works of art. Another building was seriously damaged in 1972, during the earthquake, and was reopened to the public only in 1977.

Today, the white stone Cathedral of San Chiriako is one of the main attractions of Ancona. Its outer walls are decorated with false arched openings. The bell tower stands at some distance from the church. It was built in the 14th century on the site of a pre-existing bell tower. The facade of the cathedral, divided into three sections, preceded by a wide staircase, which rests on the Romanesque portal of the 13th century. The latter is a round arch with four columns. Front stand on lions made of red Verona marble and rear, added later by Luigi Vanvitelli - on simple pedestal. It is believed that the portal - the creation of Giorgio da Como.

Notable is the dome of the cathedral - one of the oldest in Italy. It has several tapered shape with twelve faces. The dome was made in the 13th century designed by Margaritone d'Arezzo. The copper coating was added in the 16th century.

Inside the wooden vaults aisles are decorated with paintings from the 15th century. The left side chapel, you can see the monument to the Soldier Fermo 1530 year. In the right transept is the Chapel of the Crucifixion, decorated with images of saints, God the Father, the Virgin Mary and animal figures. In the crypt beneath the chapel and restored after the Second World War, the fragments of the ancient church. And in the left transept of the Chapel of the Madonna and built lavishly decorated niche that holds especially revered icon of the Virgin Mary. Under this chapel is another crypt - it kept the relics of St. Jude Kyriakos (in the marble cancer), Liberia and the saints Marcellinus (in cancer of the Sicilian jasper), and the dust of the Holy Office.