page_title: Battle of Trapani
section_title: Battle
hierarchical_section_title: Battle of Trapani / Battle
caption_attribution_description: English: A Genoese nave (large sailing ship), 13th-14th centuries
context_page_description: The Battle of Trapani took place in 1266 off Trapani, Sicily, between the fleets of the Republic of Genoa and the Republic of Venice, as part of the War of Saint Sabas. The Genoese had an advantage in numbers, but the Genoese commander, Lanfranco Borbonino, ordered his ships to take up a defensive position, bound together with chains, near the shore. As the Venetian fleet attacked, many of the Genoese ships' crews, composed in large part of hired foreigners, lost heart and abandoned their ships. The battle was a crushing Venetian victory, as they captured the entire Genoese fleet almost intact. On their return to Genoa, Borbonino and most of his captains were tried and fined large sums for cowardice.
context_section_description: In the meantime, Borbonino received reports that the Venetians had assembled thirty galleys or even more, whereas in reality he had a slight numerical advantage. As a result, he decided to abandon the nave, and distribute its crew to the other vessels to enhance their combat strength. Finally, in early June Borbonino led his fleet out of Bonifacio to confront the Venetians. On 22 June, the Genoese were at Trapani, when they received intelligence that the Venetian fleet was at Marsala nearby, and that it was smaller than Borbonino had feared. Borbonino convened a council of war with his three councillors and the galley captains. The Genoese captains did not trust their crews, many of whom, according to the sources, were Lombards and other foreigners hired as substitutes by Genoese citizens eager to avoid the hardships and dangers of rowing in a war galley. As a result, the council resolved to attack the Venetians from the direction of the open sea, so that the crews would not be tempted to abandon their posts and swim for the shore.  
  However, soon Borbonino decided otherwise. Possibly influenced by previous Venetian victories in open combat, he decided to adopt a purely defensive position, chaining his ships together, with their sterns turned to the safety of the shore, and their prows directed seaward. This tactic offered many advantages to the defender, especially, according to historian John Dotson, "in the face of a more skillful, aggressive opponent": it ensured that his fleet would not be flanked or split apart, and that reinforcements could be quickly moved to any threatened ship. On the other hand, it presupposed that the defenders would possess discipline and steadfastness. To further bolster his crews, Borbonino hired large numbers of local Trapanese, offering them one gold agostaro coin per day.  
  Borbonino's order was carried out during the night, and when, next day, the Venetian fleet arrived at Trapani, they found the Genoese galleys bound and chained together. Taking this as a sign of poor morale among their opponents, and despite the contrary wind, the Venetians eagerly advanced upon them Genoese, raising loud shouts to further discourage them. Twice the Venetian attempts to break the Genoese line failed, but on the third attempt they succeeded in detaching three Genoese galleys from the main body. The Genoese had tried to counter the Venetian attacks by setting a burning raft adrift against their enemy's ships, but when they saw the Venetian success, panic began to spread among the Genoese crews. Already disheartened by their commander's apparent lack of confidence, the Genoese began to abandon their ships and swim ashore to safety, so that in the end the Venetians were able to capture all 27 Genoese galleys, as well as some of the crews who remained behind. 24 of them were towed away, while three were burned on the spot. Some 1,200 Genoese drowned, many were killed, and 600 were taken captive.
caption: A Genoese nave, by Quinto Cenni
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