Thursday - At the command of the frigate captain Michele Zattera the ram-torpedoer enters service in Naples Lombardia, of the same name of seven units, also known as the "Regions" class, built in the construction site of Castellammare di Stabia with the 19 January 1888 setting and the 12 1890 in July.

The good evidence provided by protected cruisers like "Armstrong" (Dogali e Bausan) advised Minister Brin to entrust the then 1st Class Chief Engineer of the Naval Engineers Edoardo Masdea with the design of a new protected cruiser based on the aforementioned original British type, taking into due account the needs of the Navy in relation to its intended use in missions of protection of countrymen in areas distant from the motherland.

Since these ships were therefore destined to long cruises, habitability and autonomy were much better treated (4.000 miles at 10 knots) with an increase in displacement (2.400 t), with a decrease in speed (17 knots) and with a limited armament (four cannons from 152 and six from 120). On the whole, these units proved to be suitable for the purposes that had inspired their construction, the stationary service overseas, while they were absolutely unsuitable for team service due to their poor protection and speed, which was not foreseen.

Source: Military Navy