LAURIA, lou'rE-; (LURIA or LORIA) Ruggiero di, Spanish-Italian admiral: b. Castle of Lauria, Lauria, Basilicata, 13th century; d. Valencia, 2 Jan. 1305. Of his early life little is known. His father was an adherent of King Manfred of Sicily, and his mother, Bella of Lauria, accompanied Constanza, the daughter of Manfred, to where she was married to Peter, son of ames, conqueror of Aragon. Lauria was reare in the court of Aragon, and received estates in Valencia after the subjection of that kingdom, but little is known of his life until 1282, when he accompanied Peter III on his expedition to Sicily. The Sicilian revolt, known as the Sicilian Vespers,)) had broken out against the ruler established by Charles of Anjou after the death of Manfred. Peter HI claimed the kingdom by right of his wife as daughter and heiress of Manfred, and with the support of the Sicilian nobles. The expedition against the Anjou forces was successful and in 1283 Peter III was crowned king by the Sicilians. Lauria was thereupon made com mander of the fleet, but while this first docu ment concerning him refers to him in the high est terms it gives no clue to the nature of his services. As commander of the Aragon fleets, Lauria in the succeeding 20 years proved him self one of the greatest naval commanders in history, his career recording continuous vic tories. He fought in both the south Italian waters and off the coast of Catalonia, his first recorded victory being that over the naval force of Charles of Anjou off Malta in 1283. His fleets were maintained in a high degree of efficiency, and his methods included the use of the ram and of powerful crossbows instead of depending, as did the French, upon boarding and hand-to-hand fighting. He won a decisive victory over the Angevin fleet in the Bay of Naples, 1284, capturing Charles of Salerno, heir to the kingdom, who continued for years a prisoner in Sicily and Spain. His most brilliant exploit was the defeat of the French fleet off Catalonia in 1285, which still ranks as a su preme achievement in naval history. The French king, Phillipe le Hardi. invaded Cata lonia with the purpose of aiding his cousin, Charles of Anjou, in his effort to regain Sicily. The invading army was supported by the French fleet off the coast, from which it drew reserves and supplies. Peter III summoned Lauria from the Sicilian coast, the commander reaching Barcelona 24 August. The nature of the French
campaign necessitated the French fleet's being extended along the entire coast of the invaded territory, and while Lauria's fleet was greatly inferior in numbers his naval strategy was fully equal to the emergency. On 9 September at night he struck at the French centre near the Horinigas in full force and gained a com plete victory. He then sailed for Rosas, in duced the enemy fleet to come out by raising the French colors and visited upon it a defeat as crushing as the first blow upon the centre. The capture of the town followed, together with the stores massed there for the invading army. The retreat of King Phillipe soon fol lowed, nearly his entire army being lost through hunger and the attacks of the mountaineers. The French naval power was so broken that it did not recover for many years, and Lauria re turned to Sicily to resume command of King Peter's forces against those of Anjou.
The death of King Peter in 1286 materially changed the situation. He was succeeded on the throne of Aragon by his son James and in Sicily by Alphonso. Upon Alphonso's death James inherited the throne of Sicily and placed his younger brother Frederick there as vice roy. James made peace with the Angevin line, but the Sicilians offered the crown to Fred erick who successfully withstood both his elder brother and the forces of Anjou. Lauria re mained for a time with Frederick, but his dom inating allegiance appears to have been to the house of Aragon and he returned to the sup port of James. Frederick thereupon confiscated Lauria's estates in Sicily and put his nephew to death, a retaliation which was afterward repaid in full in two crushing defeats of the Sicilians at sea. However, although badly beaten at sea, Frederick's land operations were more successful and the Peace of Calatabellota ended the war in 1302. Lauria retired to his vast estates in Valencia in 1303, where he died two years later. Lauria undoubtedly was merci less as a conqueror, a characteristic of his age, but his brilliancy as a commander was not rivaled for many generations. Consult Amari, M., 'Guerra del (2 vols., 8th ed., 1876) ; Ramon de Muntaner, edited by Karl Lanz (1844) ; Charles de la Ronciere, 'Histoire de la marine frangais0 (Vol. I, pp. 189-217, 1899).