 Sardegna was the third of three Re Umberto @-@ class ironclad battleships built for the Italian Regia Marina ( Royal Navy ) . The ship , named for the island of Sardinia , was laid down in La Spezia in October 1885 , launched in September 1890 , and completed in February 1895 . She was armed with a main battery of four 13 @.@ 5 @-@ inch ( 340 mm ) guns and had a top speed of 20 @.@ 3 knots ( 37 @.@ 6 km / h ; 23 @.@ 4 mph ) — albeit at the cost of armor protection – and she was one of the first warships to be equipped with a wireless telegraph . 
