Battle of Valona

naval Battle delivered in 1638, in the Albanian port of Valona (called Vlora today) between the Venetian and Algerian fleets.

In 1638, the Pirate S Barbaresque S launched raids on the Italian coasts and particularly in Calabria. At the time of these attacks, Venetian trading vessels were captured, which caused the fury of the city which considered that these acts called energetic measurements of reprisals. A fleet of 28 ships, under the command of the Admiral Cappello thus shingled towards the coasts of Albania where Algerian vessels had been located.

Sixteen Galiote S Algerian wet indeed in the port of Valona. Cappello attacked and destroys the enemy ships, which overpowered under the number and surprised could not oppose an effective defense.

However this punitive forwarding missed little having dramatic consequences and not desired for Venice. Indeed, in addition to politically the regency of Algiers was a state tributary of the Ottoman Empire, Valona was a Turkish possession. However, at the time of the battle the Venetian ones were not deprived to bombard the city, devastating dwellings and destroying with half a mosque, without speaking about the human losses inflicted with the population. Consequently, the relations between the Sublimates Door and the Sérénissime République was envenimèrent very seriously and the operation of Valona was close constituting a Casus belli between the two powers. Fortunately for Venice, the Ottoman Empire was engaged in a difficult war against the Perse, and it estimated imprudent to engage simultaneously in another conflict. It was only one deferment because a new incident which has occurred in 1644 (seizure of Othoman ships by the knights of Malta, which repaired then in Crête, then Venetian colony, damages undergone at the time of the combat) put fire at the powders and déclancha the war of Peak (1645-1670).

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