Editing Lecce (section)

== History ==
According to legend, a city called ''Sybar'' existed at the time of the [[Trojan War]], founded by the [[Messapii]]. It was conquered by the [[Ancient Rome|Romans]] in the 3rd century BC, receiving the new name of ''Lupiae''.<ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.perseus.tufts.edu/hopper/text?doc=Perseus:text:1999.04.0006:entry=lupiae |title=LUPIAE (Lecce) Apulia, Italy |last=Stillwell |first=Richard |display-authors=etal |institution=The Princeton Encyclopedia of Classical Sites}}</ref>

Under the emperor [[Hadrian]] (2nd century AD) the city was moved {{convert|3|km|0|abbr=off}} to the northeast, taking the name of Licea or Litium. Lecce had a theater and an amphitheater and was connected to the Hadrian Port (the current San Cataldo). [[Orontius of Lecce]], locally called Sant'Oronzo, is considered to have served as the city's first Christian bishop and is Lecce's patron saint.<ref>{{cite web |url=https://lecce.italiani.it/santoronzo-la-storia-del-patrono-di-lecce/ |title= Sant’Oronzo, la storia del patrono di Lecce |author=Rita Parisi |language=IT |date=14 February 2022}}</ref>

After the fall of the [[Western Roman Empire]], Lecce was sacked by the [[Ostrogoth]] king [[Totila]] in the [[Gothic Wars (6th century)|Gothic Wars]]. It was restored to Roman rule in 549, and remained part of the [[Eastern Roman Empire|Eastern Empire]] for five centuries, with brief conquests by [[Saracen]]s and [[Lombards]].

After the [[Italo-Normans|Norman]] conquest in the 11th century, Lecce regained commercial and political importance (count [[Tancred of Lecce]] was the last Norman King of Sicily), flourishing in the subsequent [[Hohenstaufen]] and [[Capetian House of Anjou|Angevine]] rule. The [[County of Lecce]] was one of the largest and most important fiefs in the [[Kingdom of Sicily]] from 1053 to 1463, when it was annexed directly to the crown. From the 15th century, Lecce was one of the most important cities of southern Italy, and, starting in 1630, it was enriched with precious Baroque monuments. To avert invasion by the Ottomans, a new line of walls and a castle were built by [[Charles V, Holy Roman Emperor|Charles V]] (who was also [[Holy Roman Emperor]]), in the first part of the 16th century.

In 1656, a [[Plague (disease)|plague]] broke out in the city, killing a thousand inhabitants.

In 1943, [[fighter aircraft]] based in Lecce helped support isolated Italian [[garrisons]] in the [[Aegean Sea]] during [[World War II|World War 2]]. Because they were delayed by the [[Allies of World War II|Allies]], they couldn't prevent a defeat. In 1944 and 1945, [[B-24 long-range bombers]] of the [[98th Heavy Bomber Group]] attached to the [[15th U.S. Army Air Force]] were based in Lecce, from where the crews flew missions over Italy, the Balkans, Austria, Germany and France.<ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.corrieresalentino.it/2018/03/le-incursioni-aeree-alleate-puglia-nellestate-1943/ |title=Le incursioni aeree alleate in Puglia nell’estate 1943 |language=IT |website = Il Corriere Salentino |date=25 March 2018}}</ref>