The church of San Francesco alle Scale is a church built along the historic Via Pizzecolli (or the Town Hall) like other important historical-artistic buildings of the city.StoriaOrigineThe church was founded on August 14, 1323 by the Franciscans and Bishop Nicolò degli Ungari, was originally dedicated to Santa Maria Maggiore.Only in 1447 was built the great staircase, which covered the entire area of the present day Piazza San Francesco, from which it took its name. The church, before that of Santa Maria Maggiore or Grande, or called San Francesco, was the one adjacent to it called Santa Maria a porta Cipriana to distinguish it from others. It can be seen in the plan called Ricci-Castelli, whose design is taken from a perspective plan of Ancona from before 1546. The first church of Santa Maria in Porta Cipriana is found indicated the first time in a testamentary deed of 1262, while since 1303 the church of Sant’Anna already exists. It was close to the episcope which had moved to the palace of Toroglioni, then Acciajoli, where the bishops lived again in 1700. The parish church of Santa Maria in Porta Cipriana remained standing until about 1546 and then passed to the church of San Pietro, The remains of the old convent from the end of 1200 can be found in the current theater with two arches of windows. The church of Santa Maria in Porta Cipriana was built after the death of the saint around 1235, while the church and convent of Santa Maria then of St. Francis (in Alto) were built when the saint was still alive, in the period between his two passages in Ancona, in 1220 and 1225. The friars of St. Francis (in Alto) joined together in the new convent and church of Santa Maria Maggiore, to return in part to the old convent renovated in 1400. The title "ad Alto" was taken after 1517 when the pope validated the separation from the Friars Minor Conventual, who became Friars of the Osservanza or Zoccolanti in the church of St. Francis at Alto.
