She was armed with five 14-inch (356 mm) torpedo tubes and a battery of light guns, and was capable of a top speed of 17.5 knots (32.4 km/h; 20.1 mph).

She was modernized several times throughout her career, and in 1910, was converted into a minelayer, a role she served in for another thirteen years, including during World War I.

[1] Brin had previously designed several classes of very large ironclad battleships, including the Duilio and Italia classes, but by the 1880s, he had begun to embrace the ideas of the Jeune École, which emphasized small, fast, torpedo-armed vessels that could damage or destroy the much larger battleships at a fraction of the cost.

[2] Though an experimental design, Tripoli proved to be much more successful in service than Pietro Micca, and she served as the basis for twelve further cruisers of the Goito and Partenope classes.

Tripoli was assigned to the "attacking squadron", along with the ironclads San Martino, Duilio, and Ancona, the protected cruiser Giovanni Bausan, and several other vessels.

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.

The second phase consisted of joint maneuvers with the Italian Army; Tripoli and the torpedo cruiser Folgore were tasked with blockading Livorno.

Later that year, the ship was present during a naval review held for the German Kaiser Wilhelm II during a visit to Italy.

[6] Tripoli was assigned to the 2nd Division of the Active Squadron, along with the ironclad Francesco Morosini, the protected cruiser Ettore Fieramosca, and four torpedo boats.

She was re-boilered with new water-tube boilers manufactured by the German firm Schichau-Werke, a new bow with a higher forecastle was fitted, and her masts were cut down.

Instead, Revel decided to implement a blockade at the relatively safer southern end of the Adriatic with the main fleet, while smaller vessels, such as the MAS boats, conducted raids on Austro-Hungarian ships and installations.

She was officially reclassified as a minelayer on 1 July 1921, though she did not remain in service for very long, being stricken from the naval register on 4 March 1923 and thereafter broken up for scrap.