Lepanto-Part 1

CHOOSE THE MIRACLE YOU WISH TO READ ABOUT FROM THE LINKS BELOW
| MIRACLES OF LOURDES | SOLAR MIRACLE AT FATIMA | THE MIRACLE OF LEPANTO |

THE VICTORY OF THE HOLY ROSARY AT LEPANTO
(click on the links below to go to each part of the series of articles)

| Introduction : Miracle of Lepanto | Part 1 : Where on Earth is Lepanto? | Part 2 : Trouble Brewing | Part 3 : The Confrontation Approaches |
| Part 4 : Ready for Battle | Part 5 : Ships–Soldiers–Weapons–Tactics | Part 6 : The Battle and Victory | Part 7 : Lessons to be Drawn from Lepanto |

PART ONE
SETTING THE SCENE
Where on Earth is Lepanto?

As we prepare to commemorate and celebrate the victory brought about by the Holy Rosary at the Battle of Lepanto, on October 7th, 1571. For six weeks Ali Pasha's ships had been anchored inside the fortified harbor of Lepanto located in the gulf's inner portion, and, on October 5th, they began to move slowly westward past the dividing headlands into the outer Gulf of Patras.

Let us first of all situate Lepanto in relation to the USA. We will then draw closer and position Lepanto (called Naupactus or Nafpaktos today) within Europe, in present day Greece. Then we will descend down to a local regional level, before finally looking at the town of Lepanto itself. So the big picture first, and then a gradual descent into more and more detail. Enjoy the trip!

For those, whose sense of distance is a bit vague, the distance from the east coast of the USA to the area of Greece where Lepanto is located, is about 5,000 miles.
For younger readers, that would mean that, if it were possible to drive across the ocean and sea, then at a steady highway speed of 65 mph,
it would take just over 3 days of non-stop driving (77 hours), all day and all night, to get there from the east coast of the USA.

The above map shows the general location of Lepanto within Greece. It is found on the Gulf of Corinth, in the south-western section of what today is called Greece.

On the left you see a modern-day map, showing the current countries as they currently exist. Above, you can see the 1500's political division of this south-eastern part of Europe. Notice how far into Europe the Ottoman (Muslim) Empire had entered. It was a serious threat to Christian Europe, which had been, at that time, ravaged by the Protestant Revolution, and therefore was divided and weakened at a time when it needed to be united and strong. Hence all the more miraculous was the eventual victory over the Turkish fleet.

An aerial view of the location of Lepanto on the Gulf of Corinth.

Looking from the west towards the east. The USA would be around 5,000 miles over the horizon.

Looking north from the south shore of the Gulf of Corinth. Lepanto can be seen on the northern shore of the Gulf, with some beautiful mountains in the background.

Here we have a view of Lepanto, looking down from the mountains behind it. This view is looking to the south-east from the north-west.

Above you have a panoramic view of the entrance to the port of Lepanto. Looking south from the north shore.

Now that we have our feet firmly on the ground in Lepanto, in Part Two of this series of articles on Lepanto, we will start to paint a picture of the background and build-up to the confrontation of the two conflicting empires: the divided and weakened Catholic Europe (ravaged by the Protestant Revolution which was sparked by Martin Luther in 1517 and flared up with his excommunication in 1521) and the Ottoman (Muslim) Empire that was spilling over the old borders into Europe. The decades that followed saw a major collapse and breach in the religious unity of Europe, at a time when the Ottoman Empire was growing strong and was making major conquests and inroads into Europe.