The little town of  Ancarano has a charming and fascinating history. It rose around a temple dedicated to Ancaria, a goddess in love with Jupiter and venerated by the Picenes. The village was destructed by the Franks of Pepin and rebuilt by Charles the Great to be than donated to the Bishop of Ascoli Piceno. In the 6^th century it was conquered by the Spaniards of the Duke of Alba.

Ancarano has conserved its characteristic fortified mediaeval structure including two perfectly preserved ninth-century boundary gates (Porta da Monte e Porta da Mare).

Not to be missed is the 7^th-century Parish Church, which holds 8^th-century paintings, finely crafted episcopal coat of arms, a wooden statue of the “Madonna della Pace” by Silvestro da l'Aquila, a 1759 golden urn and the relics of  the town patron S.Simplicio.

The 17^th-century Church della Madonna della Misericordia has recently been restored.