Vincenzo Anastagi (died 1585) was an Italian

Knight of Rhodes The Order of Knights of the Hospital of Saint John of Jerusalem ( la, Ordo Fratrum Hospitalis Sancti Ioannis Hierosolymitani), commonly known as the Knights Hospitaller (), was a medieval and early modern Catholic military order. It was headq ...

who participated in the

Siege of Malta (1565) The Great Siege of Malta ( Maltese: ''L-Assedju l-Kbir'') occurred in 1565 when the Ottoman Empire attempted to conquer the island of Malta, then held by the Knights Hospitaller. The siege lasted nearly four months, from 18 May to 13 September ...

. He had joined the Knights two years before the siege. Sallying with about a hundred cavalry from

Mdina Mdina ( mt, L-Imdina ; phn, 𐤌𐤋𐤈, Maleṭ; grc, Μελίττη, Melite (ancient city), Melíttē; ar, مدينة, Madīnah; ), also known by its Italian-language titles ("Old City") and ("Notable City"), is a fortifications of Mdin ...

, he led a surprise cavalry charge against the poorly guarded Turkish camp on August 7th, while the main Turkish force was engaged in an assault on

Birgu Birgu ( mt, Il-Birgu , it, Vittoriosa), also known by its title Città Vittoriosa ("''Victorious City''"), is an old fortified city on the south side of the Grand Harbour in the South Eastern Region of Malta. The city occupies a promontory of ...

and

Senglea Senglea ( mt, L-Isla ), also known by its title Città Invicta (or Civitas Invicta), is a fortified city in the South Eastern Region of Malta. It is one of the Three Cities in the Grand Harbour area, the other two being Cospicua and Vittorios ...

. The assault would have likely succeeded were it not for the intervention of Anastagi's cavalry that created a confusion in the Turkish rear. In the words of a modern historian: "Malta survived on 7 August purely through Anastagi's lucky strike". In 1585 he was nominated as Captain of the Galera Capitana, but then murdered by two fellow knights.Vincenzo Anastagi's heroic acts in the Great Siege of Malta
/ref> His final resting place is in Venice Italy. His portrait was painted by

El Greco Domḗnikos Theotokópoulos ( el, Δομήνικος Θεοτοκόπουλος ; 1 October 1541 7 April 1614), most widely known as El Greco ("The Greek"), was a Greek painter, sculptor and architect of the Spanish Renaissance. "El G ...

sometime between 1571 and 1576.

References

Knights Hospitaller 1585 deaths Year of birth unknown Italian knights {{Italy-mil-bio-stub