The Pisani-class submarines were built for the Regia Marina (Royal Italian Navy) during the late 1920s.

Designed in parallel with the Mameli-class submarines, the Pisani class was larger to accommodate more fuel and give them more range.

[1] For surface running, the boats were powered by two 1,500-brake-horsepower (1,119 kW) diesel engines, each driving one propeller shaft.

On the surface, the Pisani class had a range of 5,000 nautical miles (9,300 km; 5,800 mi) at 8 knots (15 km/h; 9.2 mph);[1] submerged, they had a range of 70 nmi (130 km; 81 mi) at 4 knots (7.4 km/h; 4.6 mph).

They were also armed with a single 102-millimeter (4 in) deck gun forward of the conning tower for combat on the surface.