Lezha

Lezha, near the Drin and the Adriatic coast, passed from the Dukagjini family to Venetian rule in 1386. Its position made it a meeting place in the political struggles of the fifteenth century. On 2 March 1444, Albanian nobles gathered there to form the League of Lezha, an alliance against Ottoman expansion associated with Gjergj Kastrioti Skanderbeg.

Skanderbeg died at Lezha in January 1468 and was buried in the cathedral of Saint Nicholas. The city subsequently changed hands as Venice's position weakened. In 1478, after the Venetians withdrew, Ottoman forces occupied Lezha and burned its castle. Reconstruction under Sultan Suleiman in 1521 restored the fortress as a military centre. The succession of Venetian administration, the league's assembly, Skanderbeg's burial and Ottoman rebuilding gave this coastal town a historical importance extending well beyond its immediate river plain.