Littorio was the lead ship of her class of battleship; she served in the Italian "Regia Marina" (Royal Navy) during World War II. She was named after the Lictor (""Littorio"" in Italian), in ancient times the bearer of the Roman "fasces", which was adopted as the symbol of Italian Fascism. "Littorio" and her sister were built in response to the French battleships and . They were Italy's first modern battleships, and the first 35,000-ton capital ships of any nation to be laid down under the terms of the Washington Naval Treaty. "Littorio" was laid down in October 1934, launched in August 1937, and completed in May 1940.