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- Starting in 1860, the Royal Sardinian Navy began ordering ironclad warships for what would shortly become the Regia Marina (Royal Navy) following the unification of Italy the next year. The first of these vessels, the two vessels of the Formidabile class, were small broadside ironclads ordered from France and built to French designs. These were followed by the three Principe di Carignano-class ironclad, all of which were built in Italy; these were originally unarmored ships that were converted while under construction. Further orders abroad followed, with the two American-built Re d'Italia-class ironclads, the four French-built Regina Maria Pia-class ironclads, and the British-built ram Affondatore all being laid down between 1861 and 1863. Four more vessels in the first generation of Italian ironclads were laid down in Italy between 1863 and 1865, two each of the Roma and Principe Amedeo classes. Most of these ships were constructed at the beginning of the Austro-Italian ironclad arms race and nearly all of them, with the exception of one of the Italian-built ships, had entered service in time for the Third Italian War of Independence in 1866, and they saw action at the Battle of Lissa in July 1866. There, the Italian fleet was defeated by the smaller Austrian Navy and Re d'Italia was sunk. This led to a period of neglect for the Regia Marina, as naval budgets were reduced and new construction stopped. By the early 1870s, the Italian government began a new program of construction to counter what was now the Austro-Hungarian Navy, which had built several ironclads after Lissa. The naval minister Benedetto Brin was responsible for most of the vessels built as part of this program, beginning with the large and powerful Duilio class, two ships that carried four massive 100-ton guns. These were followed with the two Italia-class ironclads, which dispensed with the heavy side armor of earlier designs in favor of very high speed; this has led to them being described as "proto-battlecruisers." As a reaction to these very large ships while Brin was out of power, the navy acquired the three smaller Ruggiero di Lauria-class ironclads. The last of the second generation of ironclads, the Re Umberto class, were again designed by Brin. The second generation of Italian ironclads had uneventful careers, spending much of their time occupied with training exercises. Despite Italy's rivalry with the Austro-Hungarian Empire, Italy signed the Triple Alliance with Germany and Austria-Hungary in 1882, redirecting Italian naval strategy against France. Thus, the exercises of the period simulated battles with the French navy. Some of the ships saw action during the Italo-Turkish War of 1911–1912, where they provided gunfire support to Italian forces in North Africa, and those still in service by the time Italy entered World War I in 1915 continued to serve as guard ships in Italian ports in the Adriatic Sea. Most of the ships that were still extant after the war were broken up in the 1920s, though Ruggiero di Lauria, which had been converted into a floating oil tank, was still in the inventory during World War II, and she was sunk by Allied bombers in 1943. (en)
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- Starting in 1860, the Royal Sardinian Navy began ordering ironclad warships for what would shortly become the Regia Marina (Royal Navy) following the unification of Italy the next year. The first of these vessels, the two vessels of the Formidabile class, were small broadside ironclads ordered from France and built to French designs. These were followed by the three Principe di Carignano-class ironclad, all of which were built in Italy; these were originally unarmored ships that were converted while under construction. Further orders abroad followed, with the two American-built Re d'Italia-class ironclads, the four French-built Regina Maria Pia-class ironclads, and the British-built ram Affondatore all being laid down between 1861 and 1863. Four more vessels in the first generation of (en)
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