Centauro was the lead ship of her class of four frigates built for the Italian Navy in the 1950s.

The turbines were rated at a total of 22,000 shaft horsepower (16,000 kW) for a speed of 26 knots (48 km/h; 30 mph).

[1] The main armament of the Centauro-class ships consisted of four OTO Melara 76-millimeter (3 in) Allargato dual-purpose (DP) guns in two twin-gun mounts, one each fore and aft of the superstructure.

The ships were also equipped with four short-barrelled Menon ASW mortars, two on each side abreast the rear superstructure, and a depth charge rail on the stern.

The Allargatos were hard to load, difficult to maintain and the mount lacked a sufficient number of ready rounds.