Geography made naval power central to Italian security

Newly unified Italy emerged from centuries of division and foreign intervention, so maritime weakness carried a recent political memory. Mountains could secure much of the northern frontier, but most of the remaining border faced the sea. A fleet could protect the peninsula and exploit Italy's position across important Mediterranean trade routes. Britain and the United States were willing suppliers, and British banks and intermediaries helped finance some American purchases. The resulting naval programme tied urgent security policy to foreign industrial and financial capacity.