The Washington Naval Treaty of 1922 allotted Italy an additional of total capital ship tonnage, which could be used in 1927–1929, while other powers were observing the "holiday" in battleship construction prescribed by the treaty. France, which was given parity with Italy, also possessed 70,000 tons of capital ship tonnage. Both countries were put under significant pressure from the other signatories to use their allotted tonnage to build smaller battleships with reduced caliber main batteries. The first Italian design, prepared in 1928, called for a ship armed with a main battery of six guns in twin turrets. They opted for this design because this allowed three ships under the 70,000-ton limit. This would have allowed the Italian fleet to keep at least two units operational at any given time. Protection and radius of action were sacrificed for speed and heavy armament, though the Italians did not value range, as they operated primarily in the confined waters of the Mediterranean.