The delivery of the fourth Multipurpose Combat ship (PPA) “Giovanni delle Bande Nere” took place at Fincantieri’s shipyard in Muggiano (La Spezia).

The ceremony was attended, among others, by Vice Admiral Andrea Gueglio, Director of Italian Navy Military Personnel Directorate, by Admiral Chief Inspector Giuseppe Abbamonte, Director of the Naval Armaments Directorate – NAVARM, and Mr. Joachim Sucker, OCCAR Director, welcomed by Attilio Dapelo, Senior Vice President Operations Naval Vessels Division, and Antonio Quintano, Director of the Integrated Shipyard of Riva Trigoso-Muggiano.

This vessel, the first of the class in “full” configuration, is part of the renewal plan of the operational lines of the Italian Navy vessels, approved by the Government and Parliament under the aegis of OCCAR (Organisation Conjointe de Cooperation sur l’Armement, the international organization for cooperation on arms).

PPA characteristics:

The PPA is a highly flexible ship with the capacity to serve multiple functions, ranging from patrol with sea rescue capacity to Civil Protection operations and first line fighting vessel. There are different configurations of combat system: starting from a “light” version for the patrol task, integrated for self-defence ability, to a “full” one, equipped for a complete defence ability. The vessel is also capable of operating high-speed vessels such as RHIB (Rigid Hull Inflatable Boat) up to 11 meters long through lateral cranes or a hauling ramp located at the far stern.

• 143 meters long overall

• Speed more than 31 knots

• 171 persons of the crew

• Equipped with a combined diesel and gas turbine propulsion plant (CODAG) and an electric propulsion system

• Capacity to supply drinking water and electrical power to landThe PPA ships are built at the Integrated Shipyard of Riva Trigoso and Muggiano with deliveries expected until 2026. 

Giovanni delle Bande Nere – Ludovico di Giovanni de’ Medici, also known as Giovanni delle Bande Nere (born April 6, 1498, Forli – died November 30, 1526 Mantua), was an Italian Renaissance “condottiero” (captain of mercenary forces). He belonged to a cadet branch of the Medici.

The light cruiser that during World War II was named after him was launched in 1930. During the conflict, equipped with seaplanes, Bande Nere participated in the Battle of Calabria. Later deployed to the Aegean Sea to attack enemy units, she took part in the battle off Cape Spada, fighting against an Australian cruiser and 5 British destroyers. Successful missions conducted by Bande Nere included the laying of Minefield T, a coastal mine barrier off Tripoli, which caused the sinking of an enemy cruiser and a destroyer, besides severely damaging other two cruisers. This was the most significant result ever achieved thanks to minelaying during WW II. During the Second Battle of Sirte, Bande Nere hit another British cruiser. In 1942, returning from one of her missions, she was fatally torpedoed off the island of Stromboli. In 2019, during a technical verification and surveillance of the seabed in the Tyrrhenian Sea near Stromboli, the Italian Navy’s minesweeper Vieste found the wreck of the Light Cruiser sunk 77 years before with her brave crew.