A transitional Condottieri design balances speed and survival

The class is an evolutionary compromise between the earliest Condottieri and the more balanced groups that followed. More displacement and armour acknowledge that extreme speed and minimal protection created a serious combat weakness. The design nevertheless preserves enough of the original concept that both ships remain vulnerable when promising operations turn into damaging encounters. Muzio Attendolo is ultimately too expensive to recover or convert into an anti-aircraft cruiser, which gives the compromise a concrete limit.