"Enrico Dandolo" was long overall and had a beam of and an average draft of . She displaced normally and up to at full load. Her propulsion system consisted of two vertical compound steam engines each driving a single screw propeller, with steam supplied by eight coal-fired, rectangular boilers. Her engines produced a top speed of at . She could steam for at a speed of . She had a crew of 420 officers and men, which later increased to 515.