Francesco Ferruccio was a Giuseppe Garibaldi-class armored cruiser built for the Royal Italian Navy (Regia Marina) in the first decade of the 20th century.

During World War I, Francesco Ferruccio's activities were limited by the threat of Austro-Hungarian submarines and she became a training ship in 1919.

[7] When the Italo-Turkish War began on 29 September 1911, Francesco Ferruccio assigned to the 4th Division of the 2nd Squadron of the Mediterranean Fleet, together with her sisters Giuseppe Garibaldi and Varese.

Francesco Ferruccio and Giuseppe Garibaldi bombarded Tripoli on 3–4 October while Varese stood offshore to watch for any Ottoman ships.

[8] Francesco Ferruccio and Giuseppe Garibaldi bombarded Beirut on 24 February 1912, sinking the elderly Ottoman ironclad Avnillâh and forced the torpedo boat Ankara to scuttle itself.

[7] When Italy declared war on the Central Powers in May 1915, she was assigned to the 5th Cruiser Division, based at Brindisi.

[14] The loss of Giuseppe Garibaldi and the sinking of the armored cruiser Amalfi by another submarine on 7 July severely restricted the activities of the other ships based in the Adriatic Sea.

[15] Francesco Ferruccio was briefly stationed in the Levant from 19 November to 22 December before returning to Brindisi where she escorted convoys to Albania and patrolled the Albanian coast for the rest of the war.