The Cesare Rossarol was built in 1913 at the Genoa shipyard. It set sail on its first voyage a year later, at the beginning of World War I.
The sinking of the ship was caused by hitting a mine about two miles off the coast of the small Istrian town of Ližnjan, after the end of World War I. The Austro-Hungarian Navy had laid numerous minefields around the port of Pula, which was the main naval base of the Austro-Hungarian Navy.
The Cesare Rossarol was launched into the sea on August 15, 1914, and handed over to the Italian Navy on August 1, 1915. The ship had a steel hull divided into 17 compartments, with a length of 85 m and a width of 8.01 m. Fully armed, it had a displacement of 1235 tons, with a draft of 3.11 m. The crew consisted of 5 officers and 104 petty officers and sailors.
