The siege of Santa Maura took place on 21 July – 6 August 1684 between the forces of the Republic of Venice and the Ottoman Empire, and was the opening battle of the Sixth Ottoman–Venetian War.

The siege lasted until 6 August, when the commander Bekir Agha, bowing to pressure from the 500 Albanians and 200 Greeks in the fortress garrison, surrendered to the Venetians.

Encouraged by letters from the local Greek population, he intended to seize the castle of Santa Maura, which he believed to be lightly defended.

[12][13] As a result of this misadventure, Cornaro was sidelined for the first year of the war, during which he served as governor of the Ionian Islands, before he was appointed to command in Dalmatia in late 1685.

[14] Despite Cornaro's failure, Morosini and his war council decided to repeat the attempt, given that the season was already too advanced for anything more ambitious, and that at least use of Lefkada would be thus denied to the Barbary corsairs allied with the Ottomans.

[15][16] The fleet, comprising 38 galleys, six galleasses, and 22 sailing men-of-war, departed Corfu on 18 July, arriving at Lefkada two days later and disembarking troops on the mainland across from the fortress.

[26] The conquest of Santa Maura cost the Venetians 127 dead and 128 wounded, while an even greater toll was exacted by disease: 1,740 soldiers had to be sent back to Corfu for treatment.

A garrison of a thousand men from the Saxon and Corsican regiments was quartered in the fortress, and Lorenzo Venier and Filippo Paruta named governors of the island.

[27] Morosini and his war council prevaricated as to their next steps, launching raids into Acarnania and the Gulf of Patras, but in the end the decision was made to seize Preveza, in order to secure Santa Maura.

[27] During the Seventh Ottoman–Venetian War, following the rapid Ottoman reconquest of the Morea in 1715, the Venetians initially abandoned Lefkada to focus their resources on the defence of Corfu.