The ship was originally ordered by the Greek Navy and named Salamis, but she was sold to the Regia Marina before she was completed and renamed for the Battle of Dogali.

She was armed with a main battery of six 15-centimeter (5.9 in) guns and reached a speed of 19.66 knots (36.41 km/h; 22.62 mph) on her sea trials, making her one of the fastest cruisers at the time.

Dogali was designed by the British naval architect William Henry White and built at the Armstrong Whitworth shipyard at Elswick.

[1] The keel for the new cruiser was laid down at Armstrong Whitworth on 13 February 1885, and the completed hull was launched on 23 December that year.

The first half of the maneuvers tested the ability to attack and defend the Strait of Messina, and concluded in time for a fleet review by King Umberto I on the 21st.

[5] In 1890, Dogali participated in the annual fleet maneuvers in the First Squadron, along with the ironclad Lepanto, the protected cruiser Piemonte, and several torpedo boats.

[6] Dogali and the protected cruisers Etna and Giovanni Bausan represented Italy at the international naval review in New York, held at the start of the World's Columbian Exposition in Chicago in 1893.

[7] Later that year, Dogali and Giovanni Bausan were present in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil during the Revolta da Armada (Revolt of the Fleet), along with cruisers from Britain, France, Germany, Spain, and Argentina.

[12] In 1906, while cruising in North American waters, Dogali stopped at the Pensacola Navy Yard, where she had some maintenance done on her engines.