Commissioned into service in the Italian Regia Marina (Royal Navy) in 1913, she served in World War I, playing an active role in the Adriatic campaign.

On 24 May Ardito, Animoso, and Audace carried out an anti-submarine patrol in the Gulf of Drin off the coast of the Principality of Albania and subsequently off Cattaro, a major base of the Austro-Hungarian Navy.

[3] On 11 July 1915 Ardito, Animoso, Ardente, and Audace escorted Quarto to the Palagruža (known to the Italians as the Pelagosa) archipelago in the Adriatic Sea, where they landed the vanguard of an occupation force.

At 04:00 on 17 July 1915 Ardito, together with Giuseppe Garibaldi, Vettor Pisani, Ardente, Strale, Airone, Arpia, Astore, Calliope, Clio, the armored cruiser Varese, and the torpedo boats Alcione, Centauro, and Cigno, took part in a bombardment of the Ragusa–Cattaro railway.

The Italians had begun their return voyage to Brindisi when the Austro-Hungarian submarine U-4 attacked the formation at 04:40 and torpedoed Giuseppe Garibaldi,[4] which sank within minutes.

A few hours after an Austro-Hungarian Navy force subjected Palagruža to a heavy bombardment during the night of 16–17 August 1915, Ardito, Quarto, Animoso, Intrepido, and the destroyer Impavido, which were on a cruise in the Adriatic Sea north of the line Brindisi–Cattaro, interrupted their operations to respond.

[4] During the night of 11–12 December 1915 Ardito and the destroyer Simone Schiaffino escorted the steamships Epiro and Molfetta from Brindisi to Durrës (known to the Italians as Durazzo) in Albania, where the two steamers delivered supplies for the Serbian Army.

[4] On 29 September 1917 Ardito, now under the command of Capitano di corvetta (Corvette Captain) Inigo Campioni, a future ammiraglio di squadra (squadron admiral) and commander of the Italian battlefleet during World War II, put to sea with Ardente and Audace and a second formation made up of Giuseppe Cesare Abba, the scout cruiser Sparviero, and the destroyers Giovanni Acerbi, Vincenzo Giordano Orsini, and Francesco Stocco to support a bombing raid by 10 Italian airplanes against Pola.

They encountered an Austro-Hungarian force composed of the destroyers Huszár, Streiter, Turul, and Velebit and four torpedo boats on a similar mission against an Italian airbase.

[4] On 10 February 1918 Ardito, Aquila, Ardente, Francesco Stocco, Giovanni Acerbi, and Giuseppe Sirtori — and, according to some sources, the motor torpedo boat MAS 18 — steamed to Porto Levante, now a part of Porto Viro, in case they were needed to support an incursion into the harbor at Bakar (known to the Italians as Buccari) by MAS motor torpedo boats.

At 15:30 on 4 November, Ardito, after steaming from Venice, docked at Rovinj (known to the Italians as Rovigno), taking possession of the city on behalf of the Kingdom of Italy.