The Battle of Trapani took place on 23 June 1266 off Trapani, Sicily, between the fleets of the Republic of Genoa and the Republic of Venice, as part of the War of Saint Sabas (1256–1270). During the war, the Venetians held the upper hand in naval confrontations, forcing the Genoese to resort to commerce raiding and avoiding fleet battles. In the 1266 campaign, the Genoese had an advantage in numbers, but this was not known to the Genoese commander, Lanfranco Borbonino. As a result, the Genoese tarried at Corsica until the end of May. The Venetian fleet under Jacopo Dondulo, was left to sail back and forth awaiting the appearance of the Genoese fleet in the waters around southern Italy and Sicily. Fearing that the other side had more ships, both sides reinforced their fleets with additional ships, but the Genoese retained a small numerical advantage.
The two fleets met near Trapani in Sicily on 22 June. After learning of the Venetian fleet's smaller size, the Genoese war council resolved to attack, but during the night Borbonino reversed the decision and instead ordered his ships to take up a defensive position, bound together with chains, near the shore. As the Venetian fleet attacked the next day, many of the Genoese crews, mostly hired foreigners, lost heart and abandoned their ships. The battle was a crushing Venetian victory, as they sank or captured the entire Genoese fleet. On their return to Genoa, Borbonino and most of his captains were tried and fined large sums for cowardice. Despite the loss, Genoa continued the war, in which neither side was able to gain a decisive advantage, until it was ended through French mediation in 1270.
Background
The War of Saint Sabas between the rival Italian maritime republics of Venice and Genoa broke out in 1256 over access to and control of the ports and markets of the Eastern Mediterranean. In the Battle of Acre in 1258 and again in the Battle of Settepozzi in 1263, the Venetian navy demonstrated its superiority over its Genoese counterpart. Consequently, the Genoese avoided direct confrontations with the Venetian battle fleet. Instead, they engaged in commerce raiding against the Venetian merchant convoys. This type of warfare is exemplified by the Battle of Saseno in August 1264, when the annual Venetian trade convoy () to the Levant was captured by the Genoese.
At the same time, the Venetians' diplomatic position improved, as the Byzantine emperor, Michael VIII Palaiologos, broke his treaty of alliance with Genoa, due to the poor Genoese performance against Venice. In 1264, he expelled the Genoese from Constantinople and sought a rapprochement with Venice that culminated in a provisional non-aggression pact in 1265, although it was not ratified until three years later. 1265 saw no major combat at sea and the Venetian fleet of 16 galleys under the admiral Giovanni Delfino successfully escorted the year's trade convoy to the Levant and back to Venice. The Genoese fleet of ten galleys, under the prominent nobleman Simone Guercio, had tarried in sailing until the Venetians were already back in the Adriatic Sea. According to the naval historian , there were two reasons why warfare was conducted in such an almost desultory manner: both sides faced severe financial shortages, and furthermore, were confronted with the landing in Italy of the ambitious French prince, Charles of Anjou, leading both naval powers to adopt a cautious stance.
Opening moves
For the 1266 raiding campaign, Genoa prepared a fleet comprising 18 galleys and a large under Lanfranco Borbonino. As the fleet departed for Corsica in late April, news arrived of increased Venetian naval strength, and nine more galleys were ordered into action; they joined the rest of the fleet at Bonifacio in May.
In reality, the Venetian fleet only counted 15 galleys according to the Venetian chronicler Martino da Canal (the Genoese report only ten). Jacopo Dondulo (often erroneously called Dandolo), an experienced sailor who was said to "know the harbours and holes where the Genoese lay in hiding", was appointed as its commander. Due to financial constraints, the bulk of the fleet was to be furnished by the Venetian colonies—four galleys from Crete, three galleys from Zara, and three galleys and a galleot (a type of light galley) from Negroponte—while only four galleys were equipped in Venice itself.