In 1519 Charles V enlarged his domain obtaining the imperial crown of Germany disputed by Francis I, King of France. Between these two kings on several occasions were fought terrible battles that turned the whole Europe in a scene of strife. After more than twenty years of struggles, Francis I, to get rid of his opponent and satisfy his fierce passion for revenge and ambition, considering himself lower in strength, forgot to be Christian and established an alliance with Suleiman the Great, king of the Turks. This, well understood that was the right moment to take advantage of the discord of the two Christian kings to expand, so thanks to the work of pirates who had their homes along the coast of Africa, draw from them a rich loot.
A fleet of 150 ships, was therefore sent in 1543 by Suleiman to the aid of the French king. It was placed at the head of Ariadeno (ad-Khair dín), king of the pirates, vulgarly known under the name of Barbarossa for his reddish and thick beard. He had already left in Tunis sad memory of his person during the time that it was the ruler. After travelling along the coasts of Italy, having caused considerable damage in some seaside towns he arrived in France, where for about a year he stopped close to Marseilles. After that, king Francis I, regretting of the scandalous ties with those infidels, from which he had had only immense expense and hatred of the Christian people, sent Barbarossa back to the East, giving him many gifts. Driven by its nature, the king of the pirates thought to make, even during the return journey, actions in order to draw strength and the greatest possible spoils from them. The intentions of the pirate were known even before he undertook his return journey and much was feared for the city of Lipari, located on the way that the Turkish armed naval had to do to return home. The viceroy of Naples, Don Pietro of Toledo, at the end of May 1544, sent a ship to inform the inhabitants of Lipari and warn them out about the threat that weighed on their city. The news didn’t bewilder the liparesi, and even known the strength of the enemy, they put soul and fervour to prepare the defence of their city. From Messina they provided to withdraw, with money collected among themselves, abundant weapons and ammunitions. It was ancient custom that in case of danger the cities nearby would help each other by sending well-armed men, supplying of food for three days to three days, and temporarily some piece of artillery. So the city of Patti, as can be seen from a sixteenth century document that is preserved in the Municipal Archive of that city, in that occasion gave artillery to the island of Lipari. He was examined by inhabitants of the island the opportunity to send all the women, children and those unable to fight to Sicily to keep them away from danger and at the same time alleviate the weight of the provisioning needed to tackle a long siege; it prevailed the opinion of those who valued that no one should leave the island so that the people of Lipari, having the commitment to defend their homeland and even their family, would thus have fought with more tenacity and rage. Also the possibility suggested by some, to let come from Messina a strong garrison of Spanish troops to increase the number of defenders, had no happy outcome, trusting that the only forces of the island would have been sufficient to defend the city. Neither had better luck the request of the Viceroy of Naples to send a garrison in help; Peter Toledo required the inhabitants of Lipari to bear the costs of the garrison, which was not accepted by the inhabitants, being this a large expense impossible for them to support it.
Lipari prepared to suffer the massive assault force of Ariadeno Barbarossa. Meanwhile it arrived from Naples a sheep sent to the Liparesi by the Viceroy Peter Toledo, full of munitions of war, as well as the warn that it would not be long since the arrival of Barbarossa. He, in fact, departed from Toulon for Constantinople, first robbed along the coast of Naples and then conquered the island of Ischia. Not happy of this devastation, at the end of June 1544 he moved against the island of Lipari to conquer it. Maurolico, historian of the time, writes that, on June 30, the Turkish fleet had reached up to Policastro, and the next day, from the highest peaks of Peloro, it was seen approaching the Aeolian islands and that the number of ships was that of 144. The inhabitants of Lipari, who knew the reputation for cruelty of Barbarossa, as soon as they had to know that the terrible pirate was arriving, trusting in the site of the city, strong by nature, withdrew all, as it had been decided, in the Castle, confident of being able to support a long siege. Inside the wall of this castle, it was built the city itself and it was situated on a steep cliff surrounded from the sea, which made it difficult to conquer it, and it was also provided with a fortress. The access to this cliff was only through a street which could be watched by a few people and whose entrance was protected by walls and ramparts. At the foot of the cliff there was an inhabited village that as soon as the famous pirate got closer, was abandoned by the people who ran to confine within the Castle.
Barbarossa, arrived on the island, resolutely entered to the port and put siege to the Castle without putting time in the middle, sent an embassy asking for the surrender of the city. Being the residents determined to fight rather than surrender, Barbarossa landed his men on the beach of Portinenti. A strong nucleus and several guns were landed, when the artillery of the inhabitants of Lipari began his fire, causing serious damage to the enemies, and the ships of the attackers were forced to leave and find protection by the beach under the tip of Capistello. The Liparesi succeeded, even before the ships could get to be secured and two enemy galleys were sunk. The audacity of Liparesi didn’t disarm the assailants, who waited for the night to be able to try again and proceed undisturbed landing other troops and other guns, which were placed next to the old church of St. Bartholomew, which was close to the Franciscan convent. In this area, which was somewhat higher than the ground nearby, was arranged, the artillery and the camp for the troops. Only with the lights of the day the Liparesi realized what the enemies had done the night before. Between the two contenders started a fierce and incessant duel. Day and night, without any respite, the city of Lipari was beaten by the cannons of Barbarossa, ruining the walls of the Castle and causing among the ranks of defenders heavy losses. Only for a short time the besieged could counter the enemy with effective blows, the third day their artillery was destroyed but the soul of the Liparesi was not. While they defended themselves bravely, the pirate sent thirty galleys to Patti to supply water; prevented from gain the water for the continuing assaults by the Sicilian cavalry, the Turks sacked for revenge the town of Patti, removing a rich booty and burning about one hundred and fifty homes.
The Liparesi, understood that any resistance would have been vain so they sent four ambassadors to Barbarossa to ask the conditions to surrender and beg to save their city from a sure destruction. Huge was the request of the pirate Barbarossa, that asked hundred thousand shields to leave the island. The ambassadors went back within the walls of their city and reported to the citizens the response. The conditions to surrender were extensively discussed, but the Liparesi not being able to cope with such a large payment, requested to the assailant to receive a mild sum. The proposal exacerbated the king of the pirates who, without delay ordered the bombing of the city. The machines approached the walls of the castle causing damage and victims, considering dishonourable to leave without having conquered the city of Lipari.
On July 4, while Lipari was strongly fighting , an eclipse of full moon occurred and this gave rise to very strange beliefs. The Turks meanwhile, made even more ferocious by the heroic resistance of the Liparesi, redoubled their efforts and assaults; The besieged resisted, convinced that if the enemy succeeded in  penetrating to the Castle, they would all have been massacred without any difference in person, age or sex. Fell in the meantime part of a main wall of the castle destroyed by the shots of the enemies, and many defenders got injured. Superb in defence, derogatory of life, not at all discouraged, the besieged resisted, trying to repair each hole caused in the walls by the enemy bullets, with stones, mud and wood. To intimidate more the besieged, Barbarossa, secure not to receive any troubles by the liparese artillery, drew near the galleys that had remained safe behind the tip of Capistello and let them enter in the bay of Portinenti, where other troops and pieces of artillery disembarked. The new preparations drove the liparesi to send on July 8, in the field of Barbarossa, a new embassy, composed of three of the most prominent citizens of the island, to implore the enemy to suspend the assault and make appropriate requests of the economic conditions. The embassy was unsuccessful and the violent bombing of the city of Lipari continued more and more aggressive, so the Commander of the fortress of Lipari and the jurors thought to ask the intervention of lacopo Camagna, a man esteemed by all, for his authority and practice in business. The Camagna seeing that the island was reduced to poor condition and that there was no hope of rescue, as it was surrounded by land and see by the enemy, noting that its citizens mood was deeply killed, and the enemies were becoming more daring, although finding himself in precarious conditions, due to the years and his poor health, accepted the task of dealing with the enemy. Coming to Barbarossa, Camagna, with word easy and full of lure, tried to obtain clemency for its citizens, saying that they were ready to open the doors of their Castle as long as it was provided the immunity of those who were inside. The proposal was not accepted by the enemy, which promised instead to leave free from any charge only twenty six families. This was brought by Camagna to his countrymen, who with a strong prayer urged to surrender.
The besieged decided to send a new ambassador to Barbarossa in the person of Bartolo Comito, with a mandate to offer, as a condition of surrender, that each man could be free by paying twenty shields. It seemed that the proposal had been accepted by Barbarossa, so the Liparesi, convinced by the promises made to Camagna and Comito, tired of the long siege and lacking them food and ammunition, decided to surrender.
On the morning of Friday July 11, after ten days of fierce fighting, all the people of the island, led by the Captain army and the jurors of the city, went to the camp of Barbarossa to give him homage and deliver the keys of the city. The king of the pirates, accepting the submission, sent everybody back to the castle giving order to his officers to compile a list of the richest twenty six families that according to the pacts were to be left free from any problem and from the payment of any tribute. In the afternoon of the same day Barbarossa, followed by his officials and a triumphant crowd of mercenaries, went inside the walls of the city of Lipari and gave order to transport into the house of Camagna all the furniture of the free twenty six families, in order to preserve it from the looting that his soldiers would have made in the occupied city. Done that, he granted to the Turks the looting in the city. Disorder and ferocity everywhere, all sort of iniquity, robberies and inhuman acts were made. All the houses were stripped, and many of them were reduced to piles of stones by the ferocity of devastating . To accelerate the vandal destruction, many parts of the city were given to fire. Nothing could hold back the devastating fury of the attackers, not the churches, not the sacred images, which were trampled, dirty with mud and dragged on the ground. The Church of St. Bartholomew, near the port, and the noble religious monastery of S. Francesco dell'Osservanza were destroyed and set on fire. Even the cathedral, erected by the munificence of the Norman Count Ruggiero, was set on fire after being sacked by the infidels. The great ceiling and the splendid works of painting and wood which made the temple also artistic valuable, were incinerated. It was also destroyed the Municipal Archives in which were preserved many public writings of the Church and of the city of Lipari.
When the devastation of the city finished, contrary to the established agreements, on the morning of Saturday July 12, Barbarossa ordered to transport on the ships all the furniture that had been gathering in the house of Camagna, property of the twenty-six families left free and set to fire the same house of Camagna. Not only this, but Barbarossa, contrarily to the conditions of surrender, after loading on the booty, carried on the galleys the inhabitants of Lipari without relieving anyone from slavery.
After so, he sacked and burned almost the entire city reducing in the most squalid desolation the island. The pirate brought with him a huge booty, unfair trophy of war, and more than eight thousand prisoners of each sex and age, leaving the city completely depopulated. On July 14, the pirates plundered Milazzo and approached Catona close to Reggio Calabria, where, many of the Christians that were prisoners of Barbarossa, were redeemed especially by the Messinesi, including many Liparesi. The condition of the prisoners was serious, not conveniently fed, they were left to die of hunger and often thrown as useless into the ocean. After some days along the Calabrian coast, Barbarossa took back his journey, bringing to the East thousands of Christian slaves and a rich booty. Among those who were redeemed there was also Camagna, against who many voices arose, accusing him of being a traitor, so, soon after he was released, the Governor of Messina detained him under serious charges. Camagna  justified his conduct and prove his innocence and after a few months he was able to return to his hometown in Lipari. The Liparesi that got the ransom returned home and with those who had saved escaping to the nearby countryside, took to repopulate the city.