Nicoloso da Recco was one of a dozen Navigatori-class destroyers built for the Regia Marina (Royal Italian Navy) in 1930.

Named after the Italian Renaissance seaman Nicoloso da Recco, she served during World War II in which she was the sole survivor of her destroyer class.

[1] On 2 December 1942 Nicoloso Da Recco took part of the Battle of Skerki Bank, where an Italo-German convoy carrying troops and supplies to Libya was obliterated by Allied naval forces.

Unlike her sister ships, Nicoloso da Recco was unable to carry any mines because her aft superstructure had been enlarged to accommodate an admiral and his staff.

[5] Nicoloso da Recco was laid down by Cantieri Navali Riuniti at their Ancona shipyard on 14 December 1927, launched on 5 January 1930 and commissioned on 20 May.