Messina was the second of three Principe di Carignano-class ironclads built for the Italian Regia Marina (Royal Navy) in the 1860s.

Her career was limited, owing to the emergence of more modern ironclads and a severe reduction in the Italian naval budget following their defeat at the Battle of Lissa in 1866.

Her engine produced a top speed of 11.4 knots (21.1 km/h; 13.1 mph) from 1,968 indicated horsepower (1,468 kW), making her the fastest member of her class.

The cuts were so severe that the fleet had great difficulty in mobilizing its ironclad squadron to attack the port of Civitavecchia in September 1870, as part of the wars of Italian unification.

[3] In addition, Messina was rapidly surpassed first by central battery and then turret ships, which rendered the first generation of ironclads with traditional broadside obsolete.

[1] The Navy discarded both of her sisters, along with the ironclad Re di Portogallo between 1875 and 1880 to remove the cost of maintaining them from the naval budget, as part of an effort to reduce the financial impact of the new Duilio and Italia-classes then under construction.