This gorgeous Lafreri-school engraving depicts the Venetian assault on the Ottoman stronghold of Soppoto in Albania, which took place in early June 1570. The attack was led by Sebastiano Venier, who would later become the Doge of Venice. It was a crucial event that occurred just before the onset of the Fourth Ottoman-Venetian War, which saw the Ottoman armies invade the island of Cyprus (June 27th, 1570).
Soppoto was a fortress located in the Albanian town of Borsh on the Albanian coast, just north of the island of Corfu. In 1570, Sebastiano Venier held the position of Procurator of Corfu, while Soppoto and the rest of Albania had been under Turkish control since 1478. A military confrontation was inevitable.
The engraving shows the Venetian fleet in the foreground while troops besiege the fortress using powerful artillery (including 14lb and 20lb culverin cannons and two 3lb falconetti cannons). Italian cavalry line up for an attack in the field between the Venetian fleet and the fortress. And on the crest of the hill to the right of the fortress, Captain Manoli Marmori joins the Christian forces at the head of a thousand Albanians.