Italia as an early four-shaft warship

What was the first warship with four propeller shafts?

Probably the Italian battleship Italia, although a British contemporary makes the dating close.

British and Italian candidates appeared close together, so the identification remains cautious. Italia's four compound steam engines and four screws make her the favored candidate by a small margin. Her machinery suited an unusually fast, heavily armed design intended to defeat lesser ships and avoid an unfavorable battleship engagement. The comparison uses launch dates, although the competing British ship is not named and the identification remains tentative.