"If one were to look down on the Holy Coalition fleet and the Islamic one, one would notice that they were shaped respectively like a cross and a crescent, the symbols of their religions. But perhaps it was a mere coincidence..." What no one can attribute to coincidence, however, was the conflict between the Holy Coalition and the Ottoman Empire in the sea waters of Lepanto on October 7, 1571. In the preceding century, Suleiman the Magnificent had reached the walls of Vienna, while the muezzins from the minarets of the vast Ottoman Empire declared jihad, the holy war. At the same time, Europe was torn apart by religious wars. The naval battle of Nafpaktos succeeded in uniting European nations in pursuit of a common cause and halting the Ottomans' march. Even if the borders of today's Europe were not drawn there, the model of the common consciousness of the nations that wrote its history was formed. Arrigo Petacco describes in fascinating detail this well-known and unknown turning point in history.

The book is available at the Library; Call. No.: 853.914 Pet [in Greek].

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