 When the Italo @-@ Turkish War of 1911 – 12 began on 29 September 1911 , Vettor Pisani was the flagship of Rear @-@ Admiral Prince Luigi Amedeo , Duke of the Abruzzi , Inspector of Torpedo Boats . His command , the Division of the Inspector of Torpedo Boats , was deployed in the Adriatic Sea and five of his destroyers encountered two Ottoman torpedo boats in the Ionian Sea only an hour after war was declared . One of the Ottoman ships was able to take shelter under the protection of the fortifications in Prevesa while the other was forced to beach itself with nine men killed by Italian gunfire . The Italians blockaded the port and the Duke requested permission to issue an ultimatum for the Ottoman authorities to surrender the ship lest he bombard the city with Vettor Pisani and the battleship Ammiraglio di Saint Bon . Protests in early October over Italian interference in Ottoman @-@ controlled Albania by the Austro @-@ Hungarian Empire forced the Italians to abandon operations there and permission was denied . The cruiser was based in Taranto and Brindisi for much of December . 
