The ANNOTICO Report
Leon Radomile, known in the Italian community for his
VERY helpful
reference book, "Heritage Italian-American Style", pens
his first novel
'The Spear of Lepanto' which is a fictional Renaissance
adventure, based on
the Battle of Lepanto, 1571.
The Battle of Lepanto, was the decisive sea victory fought
by Venice, Papal
States, other Italian States, and the Spanish vs the
Ottoman Empire, just
off the coast of midwest Greece, east of Cephalonia
(Yes, much later the
site of the Nazi Massacre of 10,000 Italian soldiers)
and at the mouth of
the Gulf of Patras, off Lepanto, Greece.
The Battle of Lepanto saved the western Mediterranean
from the previously
invincible Ottoman Navy, and a return of the Muslims,
who had been expelled
from Spain just 79 years previous.
The Ottomans attempted to conquer Western Europe by land just 112 years later when in 1683, a huge Turkish army under Grand Vizier Kara Mustafa surrounded Vienna, but were repelled.
See the "Spear of Lepanto" and the "Battle of Lepanto"
below.
Novato, CA April 25, 2005 -- The Spear of Lepanto, Leon
J. Radomile’s first
novel is an epic two-part tale of adventure, romance,
and heroism, vividly
bringing the distant past to life. Set in the 16th century,
Radomile’s
story is about a quest for an enigmatic relic (the spear
of Longinus) that
Pope Pius V believes will decide the fate of Christian
Europe.
Only a brokered alliance forced by the Holy See between
Spain and Venice
can give Europe a fighting chance against the invincible
Ottoman Turks, who
plan to seize Rome as a stepping-stone for total domination.
One of the novel’s central characters is a youthful Miguel
de Cervantes,
who joins a special group formed by the pope and the
Knights of St. John to
recover the ancient talisman from the Turks in Constantinople.
The troupe sets out aboard a stunning new sailing vessel
built from a
recently recovered design by Leonardo da Vinci. On the
way, they confront
blind ambition and savagery far beyond any they had ever
imagined.
“As a novel, ‘The Spear of Lepanto’ will interest a wide
audience of
readers from history buffs and romantics to those who
enjoy adventure and
mystery.
Leon J. Radomile has had a life-long love of history.
Born in Philadelphia
in 1949 of Italian parents, he moved with his family
to San Francisco at
the age of nine. In 1972, he graduated from the University
of San Francisco
with a degree in history. In 1999, as a businessman and
entrepreneur, he
began writing and publishing his own books, beginning
with the best
selling, bilingual, "Heritage Italian-American Style".
He followed that
success with "Heritage Hispanic-American Style" in 2003.
Becoming involved
in genealogical research began as a recurring daydream
of his Italian
ancestors and grew into this fictional Renaissance adventure,
based on the
Battle of Lepanto, 1571.
In the book’s acknowledgements, Radomile credits his long-departed
paternal
ancestors who settled in Italy during the 16th century
from the region of
Bosnia as the inspiration for writing the novel. “They
were the sparks that
lit the fires of my imagination to write this fictional
ancestral
adventure. When delving into family genealogical research,
one cannot avoid
musing and speculating over the many ‘what ifs’ that
are shrouded in times
past. My fanciful ‘what ifs’ inspired an adventure novel.
Perhaps
researching your family genealogy will inspire you to
recreate for fun the
unknown gaps of your own family history.”
The Spear of Lepanto is available in paperback for $19.95
and can be
ordered direct from the publisher at:
1-800-715-1492. Also available on Amazon.com. For more
information, please
visit: www.spear-of-lepanto.com
Lepanto, battle of , Oct. 7, 1571, naval battle between
the Christians and
Ottomans The fleet of the Holy League commanded by John
of Austria (d.
1578) opposed the Ottoman fleet under Uluc Ali Pasha.
The allied fleet (about 200 galleys, not counting smaller
ships) consisted
mainly of Spanish, Venetian, and papal ships and of vessels
sent by a
number of Italian states. It carried approximately 30,000
fighting men and
was about evenly matched with the Ottoman fleet. The
battle ended with the
virtual destruction of the Ottoman navy (except 40 galleys,
with which Uluc
Ali escaped).
Approximately 15,000 Turks were slain or captured, some
10,000 Christian
galley slaves were liberated, and much booty was taken.
The victors,
however, lost over 7,000 men. Among the allied wounded
was Cervantes, who
lost the use of his left arm.
Lepanto was the first major Ottoman defeat by the Christian
powers, and it
ended the myth of Ottoman naval invincibility. It did
not, however, affect
Ottoman supremacy on the land, and a new Turkish fleet
was speedily built
by Sokollu, grand vizier of Selim II. Nevertheless, the
battle was decisive
in the sense that an Ottoman victory probably would have
made the Ottoman
Empire supreme in the Mediterranean.
The Columbia Electronic Encyclopedia, 6th ed. Copyright
© 2005, Columbia
University Press. All rights reserved.