Fano
[key], city, in the Marche, central Italy, on the Adriatic Sea. It is a
fishing port, a seaside resort, and an agricultural and silk-manufacturing
center. An important town in Roman times, it was the scene of a victory by
Rome over Carthage (207 b.c.). Fano was destroyed by the Goths in
the 6th cent. a.d. but later flourished under the Malatesta family
of Rimini. It was under papal control from the mid-15th cent. to 1860. The
first printing press in Italy to use Arabic type was set up (1514) in Fano.
Noteworthy structures include the Arch of Augustus (1st cent.
a.d.), the Malatesta palace, and the Church of Santa Maria Nuova
(16th–18th cent.).
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