Battle of Curzola

Timeline

1. 1298Korčula Island · DalmatiaThe Genoese fleet under Lamba Doria entered Venetian-controlled Dalmatian waters, plundering and burning the town of Korčula, provoking Venice to urgently assemble a relief fleet of about 95 galleys under Andrea Dandolo to give chase.
2. 1298Curzola Strait · DalmatiaThe two sides fought in the narrow strait between Korčula Island and the Pelješac Peninsula. Part of the Venetian fleet ran aground during the pursuit and its formation fell into disorder; Genoa executed a flanking maneuver with about 78 warships, sinking or capturing 83 Venetian warships, with about 7,000 killed, and the Venetian commander Dandolo was captured and later took his own life. Legend holds that Marco Polo was also captured in this battle, though scholars doubt it.
3. 1299Milan · LombardyAfter the disastrous defeat at Curzola, Venice quickly rebuilt a fleet of a hundred ships, but neither side could sustain the war. In 1299, peace was negotiated under the mediation of Matteo Visconti, lord of Milan, exchanging prisoners of war and restoring some trading rights, ending the War of Curzola of 1294–1299 and establishing Genoese dominance in the Ligurian Sea.