Beach along the Gulf of Corinth with Peloponnese on the distance shore. In the background is the 2004 Rio–Antirrio Bridge which is 2.88 km long. On the day before, we traveled on that bridge from Peloponnese.

The Italian name of this town was Lepanto. In October 1571, an Ottoman fleet based here was decisively defeated in the open water just beyond that bridge by the Holy League, an alliance of Spain and several Italian city states. Known to historians as the Battle of Lepanto, it was a turning point in history as the juggernaut of Ottoman incursion into the West was stopped. Over 180 Ottoman warships were sunk or captured along with their irreplaceable crews, more than 10 times the loss suffered by the alliance. Catholics credited the intervention of Virgin Mary for the victory that saved Christianity from Islam.

Please click here to see a mosaic depicting this great naval battle.