Year 1910

In 1910 a Regia Marina's naval squadron came to Sanremo, composed by the Armored Cruisers Giuseppe Garibaldi, Francesco Ferruccio and Amalfi, under the command of Admiral Nicastro, who promised that he would return with the whole squadron.

(NOTE: The visits of the Regia Marina's units culminated with great receptions in the luxurious hotels of the city and were an opportunity to liven up the worldly life and at the same time the people of Sanremo ran to visit the ships)

The Armored Cruiser Giuseppe Garibaldi was set in 1898, launched in 1899 and completed and in service in 1901.

It was one of the most modern ships of the time, it had a steel hull and had been built by the Ansaldo Shipyards in Genova Sestri.

It was a hybrid between the Cruisers and the Battle Ships, slower than the former, however had the armament of the second one. 
Suitable for team combat, it had good speed to escape superiority. of the opponents.

This type of ship was very successful and, as said for the Varese, ten by four units were built several National Marines.

He was employed in the Italo-Turkish War in the waters of Libya, the Aegean and the Levant and on 24th February 1912 with his twin sister Francesco Ferruccio sank a Turkish gunboat in the waters of Beirut.

It was sunk on 18 July 1915 by the torpedo of an Austrian U-4 submarine during the cannon fire of the Ragusa - Kotor railway.

(Characteristics Dislocamento a p.c. 8100 tons. Speed 19.70 knots 38 mm Harvey case-hardened steel protection. (bridge) to 150 mm.(artillery shields, belt, tower) Armament : 1 piece of 254/40 mm. 2 pieces of 203/45 mm. 14 pieces of 152/40 mm. 10 pieces of 76 mm. 6 pieces Hotchkiss Mk 1 of 47/50mm. 2 gunner Maxim MG 4 tubes of 450mm.)

The Armored Cruiser Amalfi, Pisa Class was built in the Odero, Foce, Genova Shipyards. 

Set in 1905, it was launched in 1908 and completed in 1909. 

With the Twin Unit Pisa formed the last generation of powerfully armed Cruisers. 

However, shortly afterwards these Units were overtaken by the Battle Cruisers.
In 1911 it participated in the Italo-Turkish War in the Dardanelles, Cyrenaica, Tripolitania and the Aegean Sea, supporting the landings and occupations of the Dodecanese Islands of Stampalia and Patmos. 

When Italy entered the war on 24 May 1915 it was transferred to Venice to support the troops operating on that front. 
On 7 July 1915 she went out to sea, with other Units, to carry out an exploratory mission in the Northern Adriatic Sea and was torpedoed by the German submarine U-26 which operated with German personnel under the Austro-Hungarian flag.

The watertight compartments suitable to resist the weapons at the beginning of the century were ineffective for the 450 mm. torpedo with a 140 kg. charge launched by the submarine. It sank in a few minutes and 67 men of the crew died.

(Characteristics Displacement 10,401 tons p.c. Speed 23.6 knots Vickers steel protection from 51mm (deck) to 200mm (belt). Armament : 4 pcs twinned IT mod.1906 from 254/45 mm. 8 twinned pieces C 1908 from 190/45 mm. 16 single pieces C 1911 from 76/40 mm 2 pieces from 47 mm. 2 machine guns 3 torpedo tubes of 450 mm.)

The Armored Cruiser Francesco Ferruccio was set in 1899, launched in 1902 and completed and in service in 1905. 

It operated in the Italian-Turkish War in the waters of LIbia, the Aegean and the Levant and with Giuseppe Garibaldi participated in the Turkish gunboat sinking in the waters of Beirut. 

He was employed from 1924 to 1929 as a school ship for the students of the Naval Academy.

It was disbarred in 1930 and demolished in 1931.

(Characteristics of the Ship: Same characteristics as the Armored Cruiser Giuseppe Garibaldi being a Twin Unit.)

(Text and images from Coll.ne Dino Taulaigo)