Ancona was an ironclad warship, the last member of the Regina Maria Pia class built in French shipyards for the Italian Regia Marina (Royal Navy) in the 1860s.

Her career was uneventful after the war, resulting from a combination of the emergence of more modern ironclads and a severe reduction in the Italian naval budget following their defeat at Lissa.

Her engine produced a top speed of 13.74 knots (25.45 km/h; 15.81 mph) from 2,548 indicated horsepower (1,900 kW), making her the fastest member of her class.

Persano claimed he was simply waiting on the ironclad ram Affondatore, en route from Britain, but his inaction weakened morale in the fleet, with many of his subordinates openly accusing him of cowardice.

[3] Rear Admiral Wilhelm von Tegetthoff brought the Austrian fleet to Ancona on June 27, in attempt to draw out the Italians.

Persano held a council of war aboard the ironclad Principe di Carignano to determine whether he should sortie to engage Tegetthoff, but by that time, the Austrians had withdrawn, making the decision moot.

The Minister of the Navy, Agostino Depretis, urged Persano to act and suggested the island of Lissa, to restore Italian confidence after their defeat at the Battle of Custoza the previous month.

[5] Ancona was at that time assigned to the 1st Division, commanded by Admiral Giovanni Vacca, along with the ironclads Castelfidardo and Principe di Carignano, the divisional flagship.

Persano then sent Vacca's division to Vis to force the harbor defenses, but by the time they arrived, night was approaching, and so he cancelled the attack.

[7] The next morning, Persano ordered the ironclad Formidabile to enter the harbor Vis and attack the Madonna battery, supported by Ancona and the rest of the 1st Division.

He failed to ram any Italian vessels on the first pass, so he turned back toward Persano's ships, and took Re d'Italia, San Martino, and Palestro under heavy fire.

He briefly attempted to engage the Austrian wooden ships under Anton von Petz in the rear, but was driven off by heavy fire from three steam frigates.

[11] After the battle, Vacca replaced Persano; he was ordered to attack the main Austrian naval base at Pola, but the war ended before the operation could be carried out.

The cuts were so severe that the fleet had great difficulty in mobilizing its ironclad squadron to attack the port of Civitavecchia in September 1870, as part of the wars of Italian unification.

[16] On 10 June 1887, the annual fleet maneuvers began; Ancona was assigned to the "attacking squadron", along with the ironclads San Martino and Duilio, the protected cruiser Giovanni Bausan, and several smaller vessels.

The first half of the maneuvers tested the ability to attack and defend the Strait of Messina, and concluded in time for a fleet review by King Umberto I on the 21st.