The Rocca Roveresca di Senigallia rises close to the Adriatic coast, in a position since ancient times considered strategic for the defense of the city from the incursions of enemies from the sea. A coastal watchtower was built on pre-existing Roman sites in the Middle Ages, which over the centuries has been enlarged several times and enclosed in ever-widening curtain walls, to become the great Renaissance fortress that we see today.

The fortress, as it is today, was built between 1476 and 1482 by Giovanni Della Rovere , appointed Lord of Senigallia and Vicar of Mondavio by Pope Sixtus IV, in the world his uncle Francesco Della Rovere.

For the construction of his residence, Duke Giovanni Della Rovere made use of the best architects of the time: Luciano Laurana, famous architect of the Ducal Palace of Urbino, designed the residential part of the Rocca; Baccio Pontelli, a talented military architect, completed Laurana's work by also creating the defensive structure that surrounds it.