The Order of St. Lazarus in the Battle of Lepanto, October 1571

Abstract

The Battle of Lepanto was fought between the Holy League coalition and the Ottoman Empire. The Holy League was made up of the maritime forces of the Papal States, the Spanish Empire, the Republic of Venice, the Republic of Genoa, the Duchy of Savoy, the Grand Duchy of Tuscany, the Duchy of Urbino, and the Order of Saint John of Malta. A painting by Antonello Riccio entitled “Madonna della Flotta” held at the Malta Maritime Museum at Vittoriosa, Malta depicts a series of galleys with their standards which had participated during this fateful battle. One galley is depicted flying the green cross standard of the Order of St. Lazarus. The participation of the Order during this battle is not surprising, but was probably restricted to resources furnished by the Capuan section of the Order. No specific mention is made of the participation of galleys from the Order of St. Lazarus. However, two galleys known to have belonged to the Order have been recorded as having participated in the battle. These were registered as Savoyard since they were most likely under the jurisdiction of the Capuan section then led by Duke Emmanuel Philibeto of Savoy. These two vessels were the galleys “Piedmontesa” and “Margherita”.