Amerigo Vespucci was a screw corvette of the Italian Regia Marina (Royal Navy) built in the late 1870s and early 1880s.

The Italians responded with Flavio Gioia and Amerigo Vespucci as part of a modest program to modernize its cruising fleet.

Ansaldo & C. Amerigo Vespucci could steam at a top speed of 13.66 knots (25.30 km/h; 15.72 mph) from 3,340 indicated horsepower (2,490 kW) on her initial sea trials.

The ship was protected by a curved armor deck that was 38 mm (1.5 in) thick, with a layer of extensively subdivided series of watertight compartments below, which was intended to control flooding in the event of damage below the waterline.

During the exercises, she formed part of the "Eastern Squadron", along with the ironclad warships Castelfidardo and Principe Amedeo, a sloop, and four torpedo boats.

[8] By 1902, Amerigo Vespucci had returned to Italian waters, where she was assigned to the Training Squadron with Flavio Gioia and the gunboat Curtatone.

[9] She embarked on a tour of Europe in company with Curtatone that included stops in Germany, Britain, France, in Spain and concluded with the ships' return to La Spezia, Italy.