As foreign minister, Tittoni prudently advanced Italian claims on Tripolitania, at the time part of the Ottoman Empire, without resorting to outright threats of annexation. The Tittoni family had interests in the area. In 1907, the Banco di Roma founded a branch in Tripoli and built significant interests in banking, shipping and agriculture. The bank's vice-president was Romolo Tittoni, the brother of Tommaso Tittoni. The bank also financed the important newspaper "Corriere d'Italia", which campaigned for the Italo-Turkish War in 1911.