 Re d 'Italia 's captain , Emilio Faà di Bruno , attempted to escape from the melee , but he could only steer his ship using her engines . Blocked by another Austrian ironclad , Faà di Bruno ordered his ship to reverse course . She was almost stopped when she was rammed by the Austrian flagship , Erzherzog Ferdinand Max . The Austrian ship 's ram tore a gaping hole in Re d 'Italia 's hull . She quickly rolled over to port and sank . Out of her crew , only 166 men were saved ; the remaining 400 went down with the ship , including Faà di Bruno . 
