Dates
November 18, 2025
When?
Soon
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On Tuesday, November 18, at 7 p.m., a lecture by Darío Testi.

He earned his Bachelor's degree in Modern and Contemporary History from La Sapienza University of Rome in 2010. In 2017, he obtained an International Doctorate in American History from the University of Leon. In 2024, he completed a postdoctoral fellowship awarded by the Giunta Centrale degli Studi Storici in Rome. He is currently a Professor of American History at the University of Leon and a member of the Institute of Humanism and Classical Tradition and the Recognized Research Group "Humanists" at the same institution. His research focuses on military, cultural, and social history, primarily of the Renaissance and the Early Modern period. He pays particular attention to episodes such as Hernán Cortés's conquest of Mexico (1519-1521), Henry Morgan's capture of Portobelo (1668), the Italian Wars (1494-1559), and the evolution of individual firearms at the beginning of the Early Modern period.

The focus of this conference is the Battle of Lepanto of 1571, in which a Christian coalition inflicted a decisive tactical defeat on the Ottoman Empire's navy. Therefore, the conference addresses the geopolitical and geostrategic context of Turkish expansion in the eastern Mediterranean, which led to the fall of Venetian outposts in Cyprus. Subsequently, the dynamics of the battle are analyzed, drawing on contemporary historical sources. The role of artillery and individual firearms is also examined, and within this framework, the harsh criticism of Miguel de Cervantes, a less-than-fair veteran, is considered. Finally, the conference highlights the strategically inconclusive consequences of the engagement.

Free admission until full capacity.

Address and map location

  • Postal address Biblioteca Pública de León - C/ Santa Nonia, 5. municipality of León . NaN. León