Italian cruiser Alberto di Giussano

Alberto di Giussano was an Italian cruiser of the Giussano class that served in the Regia Marina in the Second World War, named after a medieval military leader whom the article describes as fictional. She was launched on 27 April 1930 and is listed among the cruisers built by Gio. Ansaldo & C. for the Italian navy. In the 1930s she took part in the normal peacetime activities of the fleet as a unit of the 2nd Squadron, including service connected with the Spanish Civil War. In June 1940 she joined the 4th Cruiser Division with her sister Alberico da Barbiano, was present at the Battle of Punta Stilo in July, laid mines off Pantelleria in August and later gave distant cover to convoys bound for North Africa. In December 1941 she and her sister were loaded with gasoline in cans on their open decks for an emergency run to Libya, and on 13 December they were intercepted by four Allied destroyers guided by radar in the Battle of Cape Bon. She fired only three salvos before a torpedo struck amidships; she broke in two and sank, and 283 of the 720 men aboard died. Her wreck was found in 2007 about a mile off Cape Bon, at 60 to 70 metres.