From the 1880s to 1910s, the Italian Regia Marina (Royal Navy) built or purchased twenty protected cruisers; the earliest vessels were either built or designed in Britain, though later vessels were constructed in Italy, to Italian designs. Several of these cruisers were ground-breaking warships: Dogali was the first major warship equipped with triple-expansion engines and Piemonte was the first warship armed entirely with quick-firing guns. The first two designs, Giovanni Bausan and the Etna class, were armed with large-caliber guns and marked a brief experimentation with the Jeune École in the 1880s, which represented a shift away from expensive battleships in favor of cheaper vessels that could theoretically destroy battleships easily. Italian naval strategists quickly discarded the concept and returned to more traditional strategies centered on a fleet of battleships. As a result, later cruisers returned to medium-caliber batteries.
The first several designs were intended to fill a variety of roles, including fleet scouts and colonial cruisers, but beginning with Calabria, which was solely intended for colonial duties, the Regia Marina began to build more specialized vessels. Quarto, Nino Bixio, and Marsala were designed as fast scouts for the main fleet, and the last design, the Campania class, were slower vessels for use in the colonies. One vessel, Libia, was an exception to Italian design preferences. The ship had been ordered by the Ottoman Navy, but the Ottomans failed to pay for the ship, so she remained incomplete until the Italo-Turkish War in 1911, when she was seized by Italy and completed for the Regia Marina.
Italian protected cruisers served in many roles across the globe. Many were deployed to Italy's colonies in Africa, or to foreign stations in the Americas and Asia to show the flag. They were also assigned to the main fleet in the Mediterranean, where they served as scouts. As the vessels aged, many were converted for secondary duties, becoming training ships, depot ships, and headquarters ships. Many of the early vessels saw action during the Italo-Turkish War, bombarding Ottoman positions in North Africa and the Arabian Peninsula and blockading ports in the Red Sea. During World War I, most of the vessels saw little action, owing to the cautious strategy adopted by both Italy and Austria-Hungary, but Quarto battled an Austro-Hungarian cruiser in 1915 and Marsala took part in the Battle of the Strait of Otranto in May 1917. After the war, most of the remaining vessels were scrapped or reduced to secondary roles, having been supplanted by ex-German and Austro-Hungarian vessels taken as war prizes and newer light cruisers built in the 1920s.
Key
Armament
The number and type of the primary armament
Armor
The thickness of the deck armor
Displacement
Ship displacement at full combat load
Propulsion
Number of shafts, type of propulsion system, and top speed/horsepower generated
Service
The dates work began and finished on the ship and its ultimate fate
Laid down
The date the keel began to be assembled
Commissioned
The date the ship was commissioned
and 27 Related for: List of protected cruisers of Italy information
From the 1880s to 1910s, the Italian Regia Marina (Royal Navy) built or purchased twenty protectedcruisers; the earliest vessels were either built or...
for cruisers by the international naval treaties of the period. A total of seven vessels were built to three designs: two Trento-class cruisers, four...
This is a listof all modern cruisers built by Italy, starting from the 1880s. Giovanni Bausan (1883) - Sold 1920 Etna class Etna (1885) - Sold 1921 Vesuvio...
series ofcruisers. The first designs—protected and unprotected—were ordered to replace aging sail and steam-powered frigates and corvettes that were of minimal...
the Italian Regia Marina (Royal Navy) built a series of torpedo cruisers, as part of a program intended to strengthen the fleet during a period of limited...
auxiliary non-protected ships. Starting in 1892 and up to 1907, all of these ships were divided between 1st rank cruisers and 2nd rank cruisers, although...
the Kingdom ofItaly. With no conventional protectedcruisers or light cruisers planned between 1900 and 1928, the Italian Royal Navy (Italian: Regia Marina)...
1920s were originally classed as light cruisers until the London Treaty forced their redesignation. Heavy cruisers continued in use until after World War...
This is a listofcruisersof the Imperial Japanese Navy built between 1885 and 1945. Note that the four Tsukuba and Ibuki class armoured cruisers were re-classed...
Vittorio Veneto was a helicopter cruiser that served with the Italian Navy. Originally intended to be a class of two ships specifically designed for anti-submarine...
Baleares (1936) - Sunk at the Battle of Cape Palos, 1938 Friedman, Norman "Anti-Aircraft Cruisers: The Life of a Class" United States Naval Institute...
Cruisers 1871–1918. Barnsley, South Yorkshire, UK: Pen & Sword Books Ltd. p. 256. ISBN 978-1-52676-576-5. Friedman, Norman (2010). British Cruisers:...
for the battle fleet. Cruisers came in a wide variety of sizes, from the medium-sized protectedcruiser to large armored cruisers that were nearly as big...
Paladini, commander of the 2nd Squadron, which also included the two Trento-class cruisers in the 2nd Division, three light cruisers in the 7th Division...
States Navies used auxiliary cruisers during the Spanish–American War of 1898. In World War I, too, American auxiliary cruisers fought several engagements...
same way as an armored cruiser: a protective belt and deck. Prior to this smaller cruisers had been of the protectedcruiser model, possessing armored...
Bolzano was a unique heavy cruiser, sometimes considered to be a member of the Trento class, built for the Italian Regia Marina (Royal Navy) in the early...
to Italy. In 1888, she took part in the annual fleet maneuvers, along with four ironclads, three other protectedcruisers, four torpedo cruisers, and...
third member of the Zara class of heavy cruisers to be built for the Italian Regia Marina (Royal Navy) in the 1930s. Named for the town of Gorizia, the...
of 1922 and the London Naval Treaty of 1930. Heavy cruisers were generally larger, more heavily-armed and more heavily-armoured than light cruisers while...
Jean (2013). French Cruisers 1922 – 1956. Barnsley, UK: Seaforth Publishing. ISBN 978-1-84832-133-5. Whitley, M. J. (1999). Cruisersof World War Two: An...
Stromboli was a protectedcruiserof the Italian Regia Marina (Royal Navy) built in the 1880s. She was the second member of the Etna class, which included...
variety ofcruiser types, including small avisos and larger protectedcruisers. Due to budget constraints, the navy was unable to build cruisers designed...
"A" and "Y" positions thus making them the most heavily armed light cruisersofItaly during World War II. The machinery was also revised which led to these...
"Elswick cruisers" on a similar design being constructed for Italy, China, Japan, Argentina, Austria and the United States. Protectedcruisers became attractive...
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