Marcantonio Colonna

Class History: This proposed class was designed by the Ansaldo company as an 'improved Littorio' class. They were to be Roma and Impero. The Regia Marina decided it would take too long to build them and had Roma and Impero built to the Littorio class design (with a few upgrades.) The Ansaldo sold the blueprints (as the UP41) to the Soviets who used it as a 'learning basis' for what eventually became the much larger Sovietsky Soyuz project.

Country: Italy, a European country with a long Mediterranean coastline, has left a powerful mark on Western culture and cuisine. Its capital, Rome, is home to the Vatican as well as landmark art and ancient ruins. Other major cities include Florence, with Renaissance masterpieces such as Michelangelo’s "David" and Brunelleschi's Duomo; Venice, the city of canals; and Milan, Italy’s fashion capital.