town, Abruzzi regione, south-central Italy. An archbishopric and agricultural centre, it has textile, machinery, and furniture manufactures. It originated as the Roman Anxanum. The town's Cistercian-Gothic church of Santa Maria Maggiore dates from 1227, and its cathedral has a late 13th-century campanile. Up to the 17th century Lanciano held fairs that attracted merchants from all over Italy, as well as from France and the Balkans. Pop. (2006 est.) mun., 36,306.