Giuseppe Miraglia was laid down in 1921 as the train ferry Città di Messina, intended for use by the Italian State Railway Company, but was acquired by the Regia Marina soon after her launch in 1923.

Works to convert her into a seaplane carrier began immediately; in 1925, with the ship nearly complete, Giuseppe Miraglia capsized during a storm.

After the British motor torpedo boat depot ship HMS Vienna was straddled by bombs and damaged beyond repair during the Luftwaffe bombing raid on the Italian port of Bari on 2 December 1943, and the subsequent mustard gas disaster, Giuseppe Miraglia was impressed by the Royal Navy as temporary replacement.

[citation needed] After the war Giuseppe Miraglia was used to repatriate Italian prisoners-of-war, then spent the rest of her career as a barrack ship and workshop at Taranto until her scrapping in 1950.

[1] Giuseppe Miraglia could carry some 17 seaplanes (originally Macchi M.18, later IMAM Ro.43) and one Reggiane 2000 "catapultabile".