Earlier Condottieri names could evoke a distant, heroic Italian past and a romantic image of Renaissance military leadership. Luigi Cadorna and Armando Diaz carried recent military reputations tied to contemporary political alliances. Naming prestige cruisers for them helped Mussolini's regime shore up its position in the present. The grim irony is that the ship named for the poorer commander survived, while the ship named for the more successful one was lost with heavy casualties.
Notable Point · 35:55-37:16
From Renaissance imagery to contemporary political naming
The class names move from romantic Renaissance imagery to the immediate politics of two generals still prominent in public memory.