Lanciano (Italian pronunciation: [lanˈtʃaːno]; Abruzzese: Langiàne [lanˈdʒɑːnə]) is a town and comune in the province of Chieti, part of the Abruzzo region of central Italy.

The city is said to have been founded in 1181 BC by Solimus, a Trojan refugee arrived in Italy along with Aeneas.

After the end of the Samnite Wars, which saw the Frentani allied with the Romans, Lancianum obtained the status of municipium.

It was probably a flourishing commercial site, across an ancient and important trade route connecting Pescara to Apulia.

During the fall of the Western Roman Empire, Lanciano was sacked by the Goths, and was destroyed during the Lombard invasion (c. 571 AD).

Lanciano flourished again and in 1340 it was the largest city in Abruzzo with 6,500 inhabitants, renowned industries (ceramics, wool, silk, goldworks, ironworks), receiving important privileges by both Frederick II and his son Manfred, with a substantial administrative autonomy.

After the end of the Italian Wars, the new Spanish rule and the shift of commerce due to the discovery of America impoverished Lanciano, which, in 1640, became a baronial possession.