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The crescent moon symbol was waving

Threateningly on the Christian world.

From the conquest of Constantinople on the Ottoman advance

Into Europe became increasingly unstoppable.

But the crucial event which woke up the whole West

Was the breaking of the truce between the Serenissima and the Ottomans,

And the subsequent attack on the island of Cyprus,

Crucial base for Venice and the last Christendom's frontier in the Mediterranean.

Pope Pius V reacted immediately to resolve the tension among the Christian

Mediterranean powers and push them into a common effort.

In May 1571, after many difficulties, the Holy League was signed.

The Christian world had the strength to lay all the internal rivalries

And united into a single, robust force capable of fighting

The immense and dangerous wave that Islam threatened

To slam with ferocity on the entire Christian land.

The Holy See was joined by the Spain led by King Philip II,

The eternal rivals of Venice and Genoa, the order of Malta,

Besides many other Italian dukedoms such as Savoy, Urbino, Parma

And the Grand Duke of Tuscany Cosimo de' Medici.

The Holy League's men knew that the impending battle was decisive

For the whole Christendom, and that in case of defeat Italian

And Spanish lands would fall into the hands of the Turks.

Islam seemed ready to strike Rome and the heart of the West.

But now that the era of Ottoman predominance was over,

Giving way to the impressive and compact Christian counter-offensive.