The two ships—Italia and Lepanto—were designed by Benedetto Brin, who chose to discard traditional belt armor entirely, relying on a combination of very high speed and extensive internal subdivision to protect the ships.

This, along with their armament of very large 432 mm (17 in) guns, has led some naval historians to refer to the Italia class as prototypical battlecruisers.

They briefly saw action during the Italo-Turkish War, where they provided gunfire support to Italian troops defending Tripoli.

Lepanto was discarded in early 1915, though Italia continued on as a guard ship during World War I, eventually being converted into a grain transport.

The need to keep the size of the ships under control, coupled with developments in armor-piercing shell technology, forced him to make significant alterations compared to the Duilio design to incorporate Saint Bon's requirements.

[4][5] Brin originally planned for the ships to displace 13,850 long tons (14,070 t), to have a main battery of two 450 mm (17.7 in) guns in individual barbettes, a secondary armament of eighteen 149 mm (5.9 in) guns, and to carry 3,000 long tons (3,000 t) of coal for increased range over that of the Duilio class.

Brin opted to use open barbettes over the heavy, enclosed gun turrets of the Duilios to save weight, which permitted the addition of a full upper deck.

The longer barrels could take advantage of the slow-burning propellant to increase muzzle velocity, giving the guns better penetrating power.

After the original guns were bought by Britain during a war scare with the Russian Empire in 1878, Brin altered the design to incorporate Rosset's ideas.

[8] Their high speed, powerful main battery, and thin armor protection has led to some naval historians to characterize the ships as proto-battlecruisers.

[5] The ships' great size allowed the designers to use very fine hull lines, which gave them high hydrodynamic efficiency and contributed to their speed.

Below the waterline, Italia's hull was sheathed in wood and zinc to prevent biofouling, but Lepanto was not similarly fitted.

[15] Their propulsion system consisted of four compound steam engines each driving a single screw propeller, which were 20 ft 6 in (6.25 m) in diameter.

[16] The ships' propulsion system was projected to produce 18,000 indicated horsepower (13,000 kW) using forced draft to reach the intended top speed of 18 knots (33 km/h; 21 mph).

Figures for the ships' cruising radius vary; Conway's All the World's Fighting Ships reports that they could steam for 5,000 nautical miles (9,300 km; 5,800 mi) at a speed of 10 knots (19 km/h; 12 mph), while the historian Sergie Vinogradov states that they had a range of 8,700 nmi (16,100 km; 10,000 mi) at the same speed.

British intelligence reports credit Italia with a deck thickness of 102 mm (4 in) in the central portion of the ship and reduced to 3 in at the bow and stern.

[5][8] For rest of the ship's protection, recently developed compound armor was selected for Italia, which was manufactured by the British firms Cammell Laird and John Brown & Company.

The historian Sergei Vinogradov notes that some sources report that two additional torpedo tubes were fitted to Italia at this time, but states that "this seems unlikely."

[24] Italia and Lepanto spent the first decade of their careers alternative between the Active and Reserve Squadrons of the Italian fleet.

The following year, in June 1897, Lepanto steamed to Britain to represent Italy at the Fleet Review for Queen Victoria's Diamond Jubilee.

[30] During this period, the Italian Navy considered rebuilding the ships along the same lines as the ironclad Enrico Dandolo, but the project proved to be too costly, and by 1902 the plan was abandoned.

After the capture of Tripoli in October, Italia and Lepanto were intended to be sent to the city to provide gunfire support for the soldiers defending it,[33] but the plan came to nothing and they remained in Italy.

Italia, meanwhile, had been reduced again to training duties in December 1912, this time for non-commissioned officers and engine room personnel.

In April 1915, as Italy prepared to enter the conflict on the side of the Triple Entente, Italia was towed to Brindisi to be used as a guard ship, and she was restored to the naval register on 23 May.

In December 1917, she was taken to La Spezia, where she was converted into a grain carrier, serving briefly with the Ministry of Transport in June 1919 before being transferred to the State Railways in July.