Abruzzi traded speed for a shorter protected citadel

The Abruzzi design sacrificed some tactical speed so the cruisers could support battleships and oppose their French counterparts. A fuller hull allowed eight smaller boilers to sit side by side in four boiler rooms, shortening the machinery spaces and armoured citadel. Concentrating protection over this shorter length allowed thicker armour, including a 30 mm outer decapping layer and a 100 mm inner belt. Two triple and two twin turrets provided ten 152 mm guns. The compact arrangement left insufficient amidships space for a centreline catapult, so the aircraft installation used angled outboard catapults. Four aircraft were intended, but only two could be accommodated satisfactorily in service.