Mirabello's coal allowance, training, and Adriatic defenses

Carlo Mirabello brought experience in hydrography, science, engineering, and a long correspondence with Marconi to one of the longest tenures as Italy's naval minister. He developed radio telegraphy, strengthened the gunnery school, and promoted naval exercises. Doubling the coal allowance gave ships more fuel for training and routine duties, with a substantial effect on the fleet's professional experience. In the Adriatic, torpedo boats deployed along the coast, Brindisi was fortified, and a reserve division was established at Taranto. His record also drew criticism over the response to the Messina earthquake. Crews were home on Christmas leave, and a faster response depended partly on receiving information more quickly; the assessment here allows that he could have acted sooner without judging his performance unusually poor for the period.