Piemonte was a unique protected cruiser built for the Italian "Regia Marina" (Royal Navy) in the 1880s by the British shipyard Armstrong Whitworth. She was the first major warship armed entirely with quick-firing (QF) guns and she was also the fastest cruiser in the world upon her completion in 1889. "Piemonte" was frequently deployed overseas, including a lengthy tour in East Asian waters from 1901 to 1904. She saw significant action during the Italo-Turkish War in 1911–12 in the Red Sea, where she frequently bombarded Ottoman ports. During the Battle of Kunfuda Bay in January 1912, she and two destroyers sank four Ottoman gunboats and forced ashore three more. "Piemonte" participated in World War I but she saw little action during the conflict. She remained in service until 1920, when she was scrapped.