When, on 7 October 1571, the Christian and the Ottoman fleets clashed at Lepanto near the northern edge of the Gulf of Corinth in western Greece, a battle of cataclysmic proportions ensued. It was the last great sea battle between galleys in the Middle Sea and it was to assume great symbolic importance for several historians who tended to see in it the ultimate check that the Ottomans received in the Mediterranean which came just six years after they were humbled in Malta in the summer of 1565. Miguel Cervantes, who actually fought in the battle, wrote that it was 'the greatest event witnessed by ages past, present, and to come'.

On the other hand, some modern revisionist historians see in both events mere hiccups in the Ottoman Empire's westward advance. The Turks soon recovered their naval strength but the great number of ships they lost meant they often had to resort to new un-aged timber for their vessels which was to prove a real hindrance. Even the loss of manpower was direly felt for a few generations in spite of the huge human resources of the Porte.

The Order of St John took part in the engagement by contributing its galleys which eventually suffered extensive damage; the legendary knight Romegas was directly involved, but as the superintendent of the papal squadron.

Much has been written about this great clash. Voltaire's oft-repeated assertion that nothing was as well-known as the siege of Malta could easily be extended to include the naval engagement at Lepanto.

Many unpublished accounts of the battle still survive in various archives all over Europe, including our National Library, in Valletta. Paul George Pisani's heavily annotated edition of an unpublished account by Abbot Luca Cenni (1623-85) - found in the latter - is an important contribution in its own right.

The Neapolitan Luca Cenni was a regular canon of the Order of the Holy Saviour who had been chosen by the Order of St John (in Malta) to continue Bosio's magnificently detailed history of the brotherhood that comes to an end in 1571 with the move to the new city, Valletta. He worked partly in Malta and was to be paid the considerable sum of 600 scudi annually.

Cenni's 70-page manuscript was laboriously and carefully transcribed and enriched by copious footnotes which attest to the depth of study which Pisani applied to his task. Indeed, his book can be enjoyed on three levels. On the first level there are highly interesting short essays on the Order's historiography with biographical details and extensive analyses about its major historians, both published ones like Bosio and Dal Pozzo, and unpublished ones, like Salvatore Imbroll and Carlo Michallef, and, of course, Luca Cenni himself.

Then there is the transcription of Cenni's account which has lain, known to but a few, in the archives of the Order at the National Library in Valletta.

On the third level there are the learned notes themselves which are full of interesting details, with the only complaint being that they are presented in a rather small point-size which makes them hard to read, especially since they are so exhaustive.

The present book is the outcome of research conducted for an MA in Mediterranean Historical Studies which Paul George Pisani, a well-known Public Notary from Gozo and the son of poet Ġorġ Pisani, obtained from the University of Malta. This research even took him to Italy in search of the full identity of the author of the manuscript which up till now has remained in the shadows of history.

Cenni's detailed account is obviously built on much direct input by people who participated in the fighting and thus gives valuable insight especially, as Dal Pozzo had noted, there was a lack of information in the Order's registers about Lepanto.

Pisani's research has managed to tease a few biographical details about Cenni who was invited to Malta to continue the official history of the Order for an annual sum of 600 scudi. On 3 August 1668 the Council appointed him as the official historiographer of the Order. His two big volumes, with their over-70 pages of the account of Lepanto, were never published, but Mattia Preti - an Italian Baroque artist who was also a Knight of the Order - did two sketches for the frontispiece and dedication page; both are reproduced on the front and back of the dust jacket which enriches Pisani's publication.

Designed by professional photographer Daniel Cilia, and printed and hard bound at Baroni and Gori S.R.L., of Prato, Italy, the book is lavishly illustrated with various depictions of the epic sea battle, portraits of many of the protagonists, maps, and sketches that show the development of the clash. All these are evidence of the vast pictorial research carried by Pisani himself and are an important contribution and merit to be analysed carefully.

There are also eight useful appendices relating to documents referring to the battle in the Archives of the Order in the National Library, Luca Cenni, the articles of the Holy League, the order of battle, Romegas' eyewitness account, Imbroll-Michallef's account, and the 'Rime per la Vittoria' - celebratory verses.