The Condottieri class was a sequence of five different
light cruiser
A light cruiser is a type of small or medium-sized warship. The term is a shortening of the phrase "light armored cruiser", describing a small ship that carried armor in the same way as an armored cruiser: a protective belt and deck. Prior to thi ...
classes of the ''
Regia Marina
The ''Regia Marina'' (; ) was the navy of the Kingdom of Italy (''Regno d'Italia'') from 1861 to 1946. In 1946, with the birth of the Italian Republic (''Repubblica Italiana''), the ''Regia Marina'' changed its name to ''Marina Militare'' (" ...
'' (Italian Navy), although these classes show a clear line of evolution. They were built before
World War II
World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the World War II by country, vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great power ...
to gain predominance in the
Mediterranean Sea
The Mediterranean Sea is a sea connected to the Atlantic Ocean, surrounded by the Mediterranean Basin and almost completely enclosed by land: on the north by Western and Southern Europe and Anatolia, on the south by North Africa, and on the ...
. The ships were named after ''
condottieri
''Condottieri'' (; singular ''condottiero'' or ''condottiere'') were Italian captains in command of mercenary companies during the Middle Ages and of multinational armies during the early modern period. They notably served popes and other Eur ...
'' (military commanders) of Italian history.
Each class is known after the first ship of the group:
:
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''Cadorna'' class:
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''Montecuccoli'' class:
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''Duca d'Aosta'' class:
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''Luigi di Savoia Duca degli Abruzzi'' class:
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Evolution
The first group,
the four ''Giussano''s, were built to counter the French large destroyers (''contre-torpilleurs''), the first being the 2,500 ton
''Le Fantasque''-class, and therefore they featured very high speed, in exchange for virtually no armour protection.
The following two ''Cadorna''s retained the main characteristics, with minor improvements to stability and hull strength.
Major changes were introduced for the next pair, the ''Montecuccoli''s. About 2,000 tons heavier, they had significantly better protection, and upgraded power-plants to maintain the required high speed.
The two ''Duca d'Aosta''s continued the trend, thickening the armour and improving the power plant again.
The final pair, the ''Luigi di Savoia Duca degli Abruzzi''s completed th