The Ionian Sea, a border zone stretching from the entrance of the Adriatic to the southeastern coasts of Sicily and the southwestern Peloponnese, forms a triangular water surface within the inner sea, with three openings leading to the Adriatic and the western and eastern basins of the Mediterranean. With these geographical characteristics and thanks to its unique geostrategic position as a passage in the intersection of local and international routes, the Ionian Sea has always attracted traders, pilgrims, scholars, clergy, as well as refugees, pirates, war fleets, etc. Great powers of the time sought a share in this area. However, in the early modern period, three were the main players: the Spaniards in the western part and the Ottomans (mainly on the mainland side) and the Venetians (on islands and coastal positions) in the eastern part. Some of the major conflicts between them left their traces in the collective memory for the pain they caused. They thus functioned as stable reference points and a source of inspiration for works that exploited war at a symbolic level.

The present volume includes sixteen studies structured around four general axes that examine: the preparation for battle, which includes the examination of the information gathering mechanism and the formation of public opinion through the means of the time, such as proclamations; the war itself in terms of military history (battles, geopolitics, strategies, documentation); the effects of wars on a cultural, symbolic, and political level; and the people of war, where emphasis is placed on examining the social profile, participation in social processes, and the capitalization of successes on the battlefield through social and economic advancement.