ANCONA, MARQUISATE OF, a province in the pope's territories in Italy. It lies between the gulf of Venice and the Appenines, which bound it on the north; Abruzzo on the east; the duchy of Spoleto, and that of Urbino, on the west. The air is indifferent; but the soil is fruitful, particularly in hemp and flax; and there is great plenty of wax and honey. It contains several large towns, as Fermo, Loreto, Recanati, Macerata, Jesi, Tolentino, Ascoli, Osimo, St Severino, Monte Alto, Camerino, and Ripatransone, which are all archiepiscopal or episcopal sees.