The naval battle of Ponza was fought in early August 1435, when the Duke of Milan dispatched the Genoese navy to relieve the besieged town of Gaeta,[13] which was currently under threat from the King of Aragon.[14]
Battle of Ponza | |||||||
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Part of Aragon's Conquest of Naples | |||||||
The surrender of Alfonso | |||||||
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Belligerents | |||||||
Duchy of Milan Republic of Genoa [1][2][3][4][5] |
Crown of Aragon [6][2][3][5] | ||||||
Commanders and leaders | |||||||
Filippo Visconti Biagio Assereto Jacopo Giustiniani [1][2][5][8][9] |
Alfonso V of Aragon King of Aragon (POW) John II of Aragon King of Navarre (POW) Henry of Aragon Prince Infante (POW) [6][1][3][9][10] | ||||||
Strength | |||||||
Genoese fleet: 3 galleys 13 vessels 2,400 soldiers [10][11][12] |
Aragonese fleet: 11 galleys 14 vessels 6,000 soldiers [10][11][12] | ||||||
Casualties and losses | |||||||
90 killed[8] |
600 killed[8] ~100 Aragonese nobles captured [7][10] 13 vessels lost[1][2] |
Joan II, Queen of Naples, died on 2 February 1435,[7] and by her will bestowed Rene d'Anjou with the crown of Naples.[14] However, Alfonso, king of Aragon and Sicily, whom Queen Joan II had primarily adopted, claimed the succession, on the ground of this first adoption.[7] Thus the successionist war between the House of Anjou and the House of Barcelona over the Kingdom of Naples ensued.[12][13]
At this critical moment Rene d'Anjou was currently imprisoned in the Duchy of Burgundy[15] and Alfonso of Aragon lost no time in stirring up his partisans in the Kingdom of Naples, whilst he himself sailed from Sicily with a large fleet to besiege Gaeta.[14]
Gaeta itself was garrisoned by the Genoese[2] who shortly after Queen Joan's death dispatched Francesco Spinola with 800 infantry.[3][16] The Duke of Milan (to whom the Republic of Genoa had lately submitted)[7] sided with the House of Anjou[16] and dispatched a Genoese fleet[13] in July under Biagio Assereto in order to relieve Gaeta.[16] Alfonso immediately sailed against the Genoese fleet[12] with superior numbers.[15] The two fleets met near the island of Ponza and after a long and gallant conflict,[15] which lasted for ten hours,[13] the Genoese were completely victorious.[4] The royal galley of Aragon was compelled to strike,[15] and Alfonso V, King of Aragon was captured.[6]
The siege of Gaeta was lifted,[12] and the return of the Genoese fleet was met with a triumphant reception at Genoa.[10] The King and all the noble Aragonese prisoners were then brought to Milan before the Duke,[16] and with this one strike the war seemed already over.[9]
However the King of Aragon managed to persuade the Duke of Milan to his side and against Rene d'Anjou, and was set at liberty with all other prisoners.[7] The Genoese were so utterly exasperated by the Duke's decision[2] that they started to rebel against him, drove out the Milanese garrison and overthrew his rule on 27 December 1435.[7]
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40°54′00″N 12°58′00″E / 40.9000°N 12.9667°E