LEPANTO. - L., in Greek Naúpaktos, is a city and port of Greece, on the northern coast of the strait that separates the Gulf of Patras from that of Corinth; it remained famous in ecclesiastical history for the battle that took place there on 7 Oct. 1571, between the Christian fleet and the Turkish one.
THE NAVAL BATTLE OF L
Selim II, who succeeded his father Suleiman (d. 1566) as grand sultan of Constantinople, immediately showed his intention of seizing Cyprus, despite the peace treaty concluded with Venice, which was its mistress. Venice prepared for the struggle and asked for help from Pope Pius V and from the Christian sovereigns. But Philip II, king of Spain and also lord of the duchy of Milan, of the Kingdoms of Naples and Sicily and of Sardinia, jealous of Venetian predominance in the Levant, would have wished for the humiliation of the Republic, and while promising his help he deliberately dragged out every measure. Meanwhile the Turk landed in Cyprus in July 1570; on Sept. 9 he took Nicosia and on Aug. 4, 1571, after a long siege, also Famagusta: thus the whole island was lost to Christendom. Only on May 25, 1571, was the league between the Pope, Spain and Venice signed in Rome, by which Don John of Austria, brother of Philip II, was designated head of the common fleet; Sebastiano Venier had command of the Venetian ships, Marco Antonio Colonna that of the pontifical ships with the rank of lieutenant of Don John. The fleet was ready at Messina only at the end of Aug., and having touched Corfu it advanced into the gulf of L. Of the 208 galleys plus six galleasses, only fourteen were Spanish, all the others Italian, armed with Italian money; of the 34,000 combatants only 5,000 were Spanish; the clash took place before L. on Oct. 7; the Turkish fleet was commanded by Ali Pasha, on the right wing stood Mehmet Scirocco, on the left Lucciall king of Algiers; the Christian fleet was commanded by John of Austria, on the left wing was Agostino Barbarigo, on the right Gian Andrea Doria; the struggle was very bitter at the center and on the Christian left; on the right the conduct of Doria, who kept to the open sea, was variously judged; nevertheless he kept Lucciall engaged. The decisive day ended with the Christian victory, won however at a heavy price; it saved Venice and Italy from greater evils, but not the East, because the Turkish naval power was deeply wounded but not crushed. Venice was forced to ask the Turk for peace, while Philip II vainly attempted an enterprise against Tunis.
The victory of L. became popular: its having occurred on the day when the Confraternities of the Rosary offered special prayers linked the victory with that devotion; the Venetians in particular gave thanks for it to St. Justina, whose feast fell on that day.
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Pio Paschini