The walls of the Salone del Naufragio at the Villa del Principe are decorated with six large tapestries depicting events relating to the Battle of Lepanto, the most important military event of the 16th century. In May of the year 1571, Pope Pius V established the Holy League, uniting the rival powers of Genoa and Venice, the Spain of Philip II and numerous lesser powers. The Holy League declared war on the Turks, and on 7 October 1571 fought them in the epic Battle of Lepanto, which saw the Christian fleet triumph over that of the Turks. The tapestry cycle was commissioned by Andrea’s nephew and successor, Giovanni Andrea I, who participated in the battle. The preparatory drawings for the tapestries were made by painters Luca Cambiaso and Lazzaro Calvi. Each tapestry in the series depicts a scene from the battle, from the departure of the Holy League for Lepanto up until the return of the victorious fleet to Corfu.