The Italian (Royal Navy) built and operated ten steam corvettes in the 19th century. The first four vessels, , , , and , had been built by the Sardinian, Tuscan, and Neapolitan navies before Italy unified in 1861. The remainder were all built following the unification of Italy.

+ Key Armament The number and type of the primary armament Displacement Ship displacement at full combat load Propulsion Number of shafts, type of propulsion system, and top speed generated Service The dates work began and finished on the ship and its ultimate fate Laid down The date the keel assembly commenced Commissioned The date the ship was commissioned

San Giovanni

was originally built for the Royal Sardinian Navy in the late 1840s. Following the Second Italian War of Independence and the unification of most of Italy, the Sardinian fleet formed the nucleus of the new (Royal Navy) and passed into its service.

took part in the Lissa campaign in July 1866 during the Third Italian War of Independence. There, she served in the Second Squadron under Admiral Giovan Battista Albini. Albini was responsible for transporting and landing the Italian army forces that were to seize the island of Lissa, though he failed to follow his orders. In the Battle of Lissa that followed the abortive landing operation, Albini failed to support the ironclad fleet under Admiral Carlo Pellion di Persano, and as a result, saw no action during the battle. Albini was sacked after the battle for his timidity and failure to follow orders.

was laid up in 1875, and by 1878, the had broken her up for scrap.

Ship Armament Displacement Propulsion Service Laid down Commissioned Fate 32 guns 1848 1849 Unknown Laid up, 1875

Magenta

Starting in June 1865, went on a major cruise around the world, with the anthropologist and zoologist Enrico Hillyer Giglioli aboard. While on the cruise in 1867, visited Australia and New Zealand. In 1873, the ship visited Tenedos in the Ottoman Empire.

Ship Armament Displacement Propulsion Service Laid down Commissioned Fate 20 guns Unknown Unknown Unknown Laid up, 1875

Etna

Ship Armament Displacement Propulsion Service Laid down Commissioned Fate 12 guns Unknown Unknown Unknown Laid up, 1875

Principessa Clotilde

In 1870, was sent to the western Pacific Ocean on a mission to obtain land in Borneo, which was to be used as a penal colony. Opposition from Britain, the Netherlands, and the United States forced Italy to abandon any claims in the area.

Ship Armament Displacement Propulsion Service Laid down Commissioned Fate 24 guns Unknown Unknown Unknown Laid up, 1875

Caracciolo

The first new cruising ship built for the Italian navy, was laid down originally under the name , being renamed at her launching in January 1869. The ship was designed by the Italian naval architect Giuseppe Micheli. Between 1875 and 1880, was used as a training ship. She thereafter went on a major cruise around the world; in 1884, she stopped in Sydney and Melbourne in Australia. She had her engine removed in 1893–1894, and she relied solely on her sailing rig thereafter. As of 1904, was assigned to the training division as a boy's training ship, along with and . They were kept in service for seven months a year. The ship was ultimately sold to ship breakers in March 1907 and subsequently scrapped.

Ship Armament Displacement Propulsion Service Laid down Commissioned Fate 6 × muzzle-loading (ML) guns 1 shaft, 1 single-expansion steam engine, October 1865 20 July 1870 Sold for scrap, 10 March 1907

Vettor Pisani

Micheli also designed the next Italian corvette, . Like her immediate predecessor, she too was laid down under a different name; the ship was originally named before being renamed in 1868 while still under construction. The ship went on a cruise in the Pacific Ocean in the early 1870s, and in 1872 patrolled off the coast of New Guinea. was rebuilt in 1879, and went on another major exploratory cruise in 1883–1885. Upon her return to Italy, she was used as a training ship for the Italian Naval Academy. She served in this capacity until early 1893, when she was sold for scrap.

Ship Armament Displacement Propulsion Service Laid down Commissioned Fate 6 × guns 1 shaft, 1 single-expansion steam engine, 11 May 1867 10 April 1871 Sold for scrap, 12 February 1893

Cristoforo Colombo

The next Italian corvette, , was designed by the naval architect Benedetto Brin. Brin intended to build a cruising warship with a speed of about , but the British engine supplier, J Penn & Sons, provided an engine with more than twice the horsepower that Brin had specified, resulting in a significantly faster ship. went on a trip to the Pacific in the late 1870s and visited Australia in 1878. She was ultimately sold for scrap in 1891.

Ship Armament Displacement Propulsion Service Laid down Commissioned Fate 8 × 120 mm guns 1 shaft, 1 single-expansion steam engine, 1 February 1873 16 November 1876 Sold for scrap, 1891

Flavio Gioia

Carlo Vigna designed the first steel-hulled corvette of the Italian fleet, . She was converted into a training ship in 1892, a role she filled for the remainder of her career. In 1902, was assigned to the training division, along with . She remained in service as a training ship in 1904, assigned to the Italian Naval Academy, where she was kept in commission for ten months per year. After she was discarded from the navy's inventory in 1920, she was used as a boys' training ship under the designation CM181 until 1923, when she was sold for scrap.

Ship Armament Displacement Propulsion Service Laid down Commissioned Fate 8 × guns 1 shaft, 1 single-expansion steam engine, 26 June 1879 26 January 1883 Sold for scrap, 4 March 1923

Amerigo Vespucci

Also designed by Vigna, was very similar to , though she was slightly heavier and slower. She had her armament reduced in 1892, and she was used thereafter as a training ship, a role she would fill for more than thirty-five years. joined in the training squadron in 1902. She remained in service until January 1928, when she was sold to ship breakers.

Ship Armament Displacement Propulsion Service Laid down Commissioned Fate 8 × 149 mm guns 1 shaft, 1 single-expansion steam engine, 9 December 1879 1 September 1884 Sold for scrap, 22 January 1928

Cristoforo Colombo

Ship Armament Displacement Propulsion Service Laid down Commissioned Fate 8 × 120 mm guns 1 shaft, 1 single-expansion steam engine, 1 September 1890 16 October 1894 Sold for scrap, 10 March 1907

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