The Via del mare was inaugurated on 11 September 1966, during a
friendly between
U.S. Lecce and
Spartak Moscow. The stadium replaced the old Stadio Carlo Pranzo, which was named after a young soldier from Lecce killed in the
First World War. On 2 October of that year, the first match between teams from
Italy was played with
Lecce beating local rivals
Taranto 1–0. In 1967 Lecce played a friendly against famous
Pelé's
Santos here. The initial capacity was 16,000 spectators. In 1976, the capacity was increased to 20,500 seats. With the historic first promotion of Lecce to
Serie A in 1985 the stadium was almost completely rebuilt and capacity greatly increased to 55,000, which made it the 6th stadium in Italy by capacity until
1990 FIFA World Cup. Both the Curva Nord, now the terrace of the organized fan groups led by the
Ultrà Lecce, and Curva Sud, where
Gioventù are based were rebuilt. The tribuna and Distinti were also upgraded and then, to ensure that all seats were numbered, capacity was reduced to 40,670 seats. The seats are coloured red and yellow (the colours of
U.S. Lecce) and on the
Tribuna Est is an inscription of "U.S. Lecce". After this almost total renovation, the stadium in Lecce, along with the
Stadio Friuli in
Udine, was the only stadium ready for the
1990 FIFA World Cup. However the funding for a venue allocated to the region of
Apulia went to the
Stadio San Nicola in
Bari, which caused some controversy. In 2002, the stadium was named after Ettore Giardiniero, former mayor of Lecce (1983–1985) who contributed to the renovation of the venue during his term. During the first day of the
Serie B 2007–08 championship, the press room of the stadium was named after the local journalist Sergio Vantaggiato, who died in tragic circumstances in August 2007. The plaque was presented by his son, Martino, in the presence of various local authorities, the management of
U.S. Lecce and some journalists of different newspapers. On 1 November 2007, during a regular training session, lightning struck the ground and killed Antonio De Giorgi, a U.S. Lecce equipment manager. During the 2009–10 season the stadium hosted the home matches of then Serie B club
Gallipoli since its stadium was declared unfit as Serie B venue. On 22 August 2010 the stadium hosted a friendly between Lecce and
Valencia, won by the Spanish side (0–3). On 12 August 2017 the stadium hosted a friendly match between
Inter and
Real Betis. Inter won 1–0. On 4 August 2018, the stadium hosted a
2018 International Champions Cup match between
Inter and
Lyon. Inter won 1–0. vs.
Salernitana 2-0,
Stadio Via del mare, September 3rd, 2023 ==Other events==