Alberto di Giussano

In response to the French construction of modern light cruisers and large destroyers, the Italians designed cruisers named after the Italian Renaissance condottieri. Alberto di Giussano was laid down first in 1928. The ship served in the Mediterranean Sea, participated in the Spanish Civil War, and was deployed at the Battle of Punta Stilo at the beginning of World War II. She laid minefields and escorted convoys. In 1941, while transporting gasoline to North Africa, she was intercepted by British destroyers and sunk by torpedoes.