 Agordat was built at the Castellammare shipyard ; her keel was laid down on 18 February 1897 and her completed hull was launched on 11 October 1899 . After completing fitting @-@ out work , the new cruiser was commissioned into the Italian fleet on 26 September 1900 . Sea trials lasted from 11 February 1901 to 6 March , and during the final speed trial she exceeded her design speed by a knot . She nevertheless proved to be too slow and short @-@ legged to be useful as a fleet scout , which limited her active duty career . She served in the main fleet in 1903 – 1904 , during which time the fleet was kept in a state of readiness for seven months . For the remaining five months , the ships had reduced crews . During the 1908 fleet maneuvers , Agordat was assigned to the hostile force that was tasked with simulating an attempt to land troops on Sicily . 
