The ship spent several months deployed to Albania after the end of the First Balkan War in 1913 to protect Italian interests there.

Giuseppe Garibaldi was sunk by an Austro-Hungarian submarine in the Adriatic Sea shortly after Italy declared war on the Central Powers in 1915 with the loss of 53 crewmen.

[6] When the Italo-Turkish War began on 29 September 1911, she was flagship of the 4th Division of the 2nd Squadron of the Mediterranean Fleet, commanded by Rear Admiral Paolo Thaon di Revel, and was one of the ships that bombarded Tripoli on 3–4 October.

[9] Giuseppe Garibaldi and Francesco Ferruccio bombarded Beirut on 24 February 1912, setting the elderly Ottoman ironclad Avnillâh on fire.

[14] After returning to Italy later that month, the ship began a refit that lasted through mid-June that included replacing her worn-out guns.

[15] After the end of the First Balkan War in May 1913, Giuseppe Garibaldi was deployed to the Albanian port of Scutari to ensure that it was returned by Montenegro to the Ottoman Empire and to protect Italian interests in the city.

[6] When Italy declared war on the Central Powers in May 1915, she was the flagship of the 5th Cruiser Division, commanded by Rear Admiral Eugenio Trifari, and based at Brindisi.

Shortly after beginning the bombardment at 04:00, Giuseppe Garibaldi was struck by one torpedo, on the starboard side near the aft boiler rooms, fired by the Austro-Hungarian submarine U-4.

[16] The wreck of the Giuseppe Garibaldi is upside-down and located at coordinates 42°28.362′N 18°16.758′E / 42.472700°N 18.279300°E / 42.472700; 18.279300 south-east of Dubrovnik, Croatia, at the depth of 122 meters (400 ft).

The group also lacked any permits to dive on Giuseppe Garibaldi as it is a protected war grave which caused them to be expelled from the country.

A follow-up Croatian expedition explored and filmed the wreck in August 2009 using CCR (Closed Circuit Rebreather) technology.