Palazzo degli Anziani, Medieval palace in Ancona, Italy

Palazzo degli Anziani was built in 1270 to a design attributed by Vasari to Margaritone d'Arezzo, on a steep slope above the port. It has two main fronts: the lower western one toward the sea, with a high base of pointed arches in white Conero limestone and upper storeys in brick, and the upper eastern one toward Piazza Stracca, remodelled in the 17th century. Because of the drop, the ground floor of the upper front matches the third floor of the lower one.

The present building was erected in 1270 to a design attributed by Giorgio Vasari to Margaritone d'Arezzo, in Gothic style. A tradition cited by the historian Lazzaro Bernabei holds that an earlier seat of imperial administration was built here in 425 AD by Galla Placidia and damaged in the Saracen invasion of 839. A severe fire in 1348 left the palace so compromised that the council moved to the Palazzo del Governo until 1532.

The name comes from the Council of the Elders, which met here from the 11th century: six elders, two for each of the city's three districts, held executive power. The hall where they sat is now the city council chamber. Under the side facade, stone projectiles for defending the city and palace are still visible beneath the Gothic arches.

The palace stands on Piazza Benvenuto Stracca, long called Piazza del Comune, facing the Church of the Gesù. Because the ground slopes steeply, the ground floor of the upper eastern front corresponds to the third floor of the lower front toward the port. The remains of the late-antique building on Via Rupi Comunali, with a tower base and a small Byzantine-style chapel, can be visited only on special occasions.

The lower facade toward the port rests on a high base of pointed arches in white Conero limestone, while the rest of the structure is brick, with three orders of openings: Gothic arches onto a patrol walkway, then mullioned windows, then intersecting arches.