The Italian Catholic archdiocese of Lanciano-Ortona has existed under this name since 1986. It is a suffragan of the archdiocese of Chieti-Vasto. The historical diocese of Lanciano was created in 1515. It was united with the diocese of Ortona in the nineteenth century.[1]
Until 1515 Lanciano was subject to the Bishop of Chieti. In 1562 Pope Pius IV, to end a dispute with that bishop, made it an archdiocese without suffragans. The first bishop was Angelo Maccafani, who was succeeded by Cardinal Egidio Canisio (1532); the first archbishop was the Dominican Leonardo Marini (1560).
In 1818, or 1834[2] the see of Ortona was united to that of Lanciano by Pope Pius VII. Ortona was an episcopal see in the time of Gregory the Great, who mentions the Bishop Calumniosus and his predecessor Blandinus. Another bishop was Joannes, who in 916 was the papal legate at the Council of Altheim. There is no record of a Bishop of Ortona after the tenth century. Pope Pius V in 1570 re-established the see, to which in 1569 the diocese of Campli was united. When, in 1818, Ortona was joined to Lanciano, Campli was assigned to the diocese of Teramo.[3]
This article incorporates text from a publication now in the public domain: Herbermann, Charles, ed (1913). Catholic Encyclopedia. Robert Appleton Company.