 The Ruggiero di Lauria class was a class of ironclad battleships built for the Italian Regia Marina ( Royal Navy ) during the late 19th century . The three ships — Ruggiero di Lauria , Francesco Morosini , and Andrea Doria — were improved versions of the earlier Caio Duilio @-@ class battleships . The primary improvements were new breech @-@ loading guns , better armor protection , and more powerful machinery . The ships , designed by Giuseppe Micheli , marked a temporary diversion from the ideas of Benedetto Brin , who had designed the two preceding classes along with the following class . 
