Tripoli

was the first modern torpedo cruiser built for the Italian (Royal Navy). She was built by the shipyard in 1885–86. The only vessel of her class, she provided the basis for the and es that followed. She was armed with five torpedo tubes and a battery of light guns, and was capable of a top speed of . spent her career in the main Italian fleet, where she was occupied primarily with peacetime training exercises. She was modernized several times throughout her career, and in 1910, was converted into a minelayer, a role she served in for another thirteen years, including during World War I. She was the longest serving torpedo cruiser in the Italian fleet, with over 36 years in service by the time she was discarded in March 1923. Design was the first modern torpedo cruiser built by the ; she followed the earlier cruiser , which had been a failed design that did not see much use. The design for was prepared by Engineering Inspector Benedetto Brin. Brin had previously designed several classes of very large ironclad battleships, including the and es, but by the 1880s, he had begun to embrace the ideas of the , which emphasized small, fast, torpedo-armed vessels that could damage or destroy the much larger battleships at a fraction of the cost. Though an experimental design, proved to be much more successful in service than , and she served as the basis for twelve further cruisers of the and es. Characteristics