She was armed with a main battery of four 432 mm (17 in) guns mounted in a central barbette and was capable of a top speed of 17.8 knots (33.0 km/h; 20.5 mph).

Italia spent the first two decades of her career in the Active and Reserve Squadrons, where she took part in annual training maneuvers with the rest of the fleet.

During the Italo-Turkish War of 1911–1912, the ship provided fire support to Italian troops defending Tripoli in Libya.

The Italia class, designed by Benedetto Brin, was ordered in the mid-1870s as part of a naval construction program aimed at countering the Austro-Hungarian Navy.

[4][6] Italia was armed with a main battery of four 432 mm (17 in) guns, mounted in two pairs en echelon in a central barbette.

As was customary for capital ships of the period, she carried four 356 mm (14 in) torpedo tubes in the hull above the waterline, two per broadside.

Brin believed that contemporary steel alloys could not effectively defeat armor-piercing shells of the day, and so he discarded it completely.

She visited a number of Italian ports, including Naples, Palermo, Cagliari, Livorno, and Palmas, before returning to the naval base at La Spezia.

Italia joined the navy's primary unit, the Permanent Squadron (Squadra Permaente) on 11 July and became its flagship on 1 August, when its commander, Vice Admiral Orengo hoisted his flag aboard the ship.

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

During the maneuvers, which lasted from 6 August to 5 September, the ships of the Active Squadron simulated a French attack on the Italian fleet.

In July, the fleet was reorganized and the Maneuver Squadron (Squadra di Manovra was created, and Italia became its flagship.

[4][10] At the start of the Italo-Turkish War of 1911–1912, Italia was assigned to the 5th Division of the Italian fleet, along with her sister Lepanto and Enrico Dandolo.

Despite having all of her secondary guns removed, the ship was towed to Brindisi on 20 April 1915, shortly before Italy entered World War I, to defend the harbor.

She was formally returned to the naval register on 23 May, the day Italy declared war on Austria Hungary, and was recommissioned on 1 June as a "first class auxiliary".

She remained at Brindisi until 16 December 1917, when she was taken to La Spezia for conversion into a grain carrier, retaining only two of her 119 mm guns.