Petros Lantzas

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Petros Lantzas, also known as Pietro Lanza or Pedro Lanza, was a Corfiot Greek born around 1533 on the island of Corfu. He became a rebel, spy, privateer and pirate who worked against Ottoman rule in the Balkans. He started his career with the Republic of Venice and from 1574 served the Spanish Empire.

During the Ottoman–Venetian wars, Lantzas led raids on Ottoman ships, helped Epirus rebels, and played a role in several anti-Ottoman plots. In 1573 he was made governor of the coastal town of Parga by Venice, but he was dismissed in 1574 amid rumors he sold munitions to the Turks for personal gain. He then joined Spanish service and operated as a corsair and spy from Naples.

In 1576 he aided Himara rebels and attacked the Ottoman fortress of Sopot. He supervised movements of Ottoman and Venetian forces and helped coordinate shipments of arms and spies into the empire. He also began attacking Venetian ships on orders from Bari and Otranto, which strained relations between Spain and Venice. He was dismissed as a captain of royal frigates in 1578 but continued serving the Naples authorities. He later supported revolts in Himara (1596) and proposed various clandestine operations, including plans to move to Constantinople. In 1608, he allegedly planned to assassinate the Ottoman sultan with an explosive in a gift. Petros Lantzas died on 26 February 1613 during a trip to Ragusa (Dubrovnik) on the Adriatic.