Giustificatione Delle Attioni Del S.r Gioan Andrea Doria ...

This is a 17th-century copy of a document composed in 1570. During the War of Cyprus, 1570-1571, Andrea Doria, commander of 49 galleys composed of Neapolitan, Genoese and Spanish vessels, was accused of delaying the departure of his fleet from Crete, which was intended to go to the aid of the Venetians in Cyprus, particularly in view of the siege of Nicosia. While sailing towards Cyprus, the fleet learned that Nicosia had fallen, and turned back. The document defends Doria against these charges. Doria later went on to distinguish himself at the Battle of Lepanto.

The text of the document has been published in Cayetano Rosell, Historia del combate naval de Lepanto, Madrid, Real Academia de la Historia, 1853, pp. 175-180. A long account detailing the conflicts among the leaders of the mixed fleet intended to go to the aid of Cyprus can be found in Kenneth Setton, The Papacy and the Levant, Philadelphia, 1976-1984, vol. IV, pp. 977-985.

Several other copies of this manuscript are known (BL Add. Ms. 14099, f. 106 ff; library of the University of Salamanca, ms. 1766, f. 297 ff.; Madrid, Bib. Nac. Cod. E. 52, f. 387 ff.).