The battle, considered in military historigraphy a «Little Lepanto»,[4] became a turning point in Mediterranean naval warfare, where the galleys employed by the Ottoman navy were left obsolete by the heavily armed western roundships, like galleons and naos, increasingly used by Spain and the rest of Christian nations.

The decision obstructed Viceroy of Sicily, the Duke of Osuna, who had achieved an unprecedented success through privateering actions after earning a license for it in 1613, attracting political enmities in the court which had likely influenced Philip's stance.

Osuna resorted to bribery to maintain his activities, leading to his appointment as Viceroy of Naples in 1616, but at the same time, he decided to innovate in maritime tactics to maximize the power of the Spanish armada.

[5] Dauser then built a dozen of ships for the navy of the Ottoman Tunis in 1612, but Osuna had the fleet destroyed in port in a night raid by captain Antonio Pimentel before it could set sail.

[9] In order to test the roundships's effectivity, Rivera raided the port of Tunis with the San Juan Bautista, and with it he captured four Moor vessels with minimal casualties, an enormous success that confirmed their impressions.

[5] With their best expectations, the Cinco Llagas sailed off on 15 July from the Sicily to Eastern Mediterranean waters, in order to undertake privateering against Ottoman vessels and ports in the area between Cyprus and the region of Çukurova.

Rivera, warned of the relief force thanks to the capture of a merchant vessel coming from Constantinople, decided to wait for his pursuers off Cape Celidonia in order to return to Sicily with a sizable victory.

Although they succeeded to throw grappling hooks on the Carretina, the San Juan intruded between them firing with her own artillery, while a squad of galleys attempting to help them was fought off by the Concepción from the other side.

[12] Compared to the previous day, the Turks had achieved more significant damage, capturing the Concepción's rowing boat and forcing the Hispanics to work during the night to repair the broken rigging.

The third and last day, after a speech that boosted their morale, the Ottomans attacked with great resolve and managed to grapple the Carretina, but the ships' high sides made it difficult for the Turk janissaries to climb up, leaving them vulnerable to the fire of the Spanish falconets.

[15] Meanwhile, more galleys approached Rivera's flagship from the most favorable angle to exploit its blind spot, but the Spanish commander had foreseen such a possibility, ordered that the Santiago move to his ship's bow.

Fighting continued until midday, when the Spaniards only had gunpowder left for six more hours of battle, but at this point the Turks finally retreated not to return, with another galley sunk, two dismasted, and 17 others severely damaged or heeling over.

[7] Despite the advantage, Philip III's court continued without making significant moves to establish a long last control on the Mediterranean, whose watch would keep tied to Osuna's initiative and victories.