The Leon Trionfante class were a class of at least fourteen 70-gun third-rate ships of the lineEven if by contemporary British practice these 70-gun ships should be rated as third rates, for the Venetian Navy the Leon Trionfante class were first rate vessels. This different classification dated back to the previous century, but Venice never changed it for prestige issues. built by the Venetian Arsenale from 1716 to 1785, in four different series with minor changes in the ships' length. In 1797, when Venice fell to the French, Napoleon captured several ships of the class, still unfinished in the Arsenal: he chose one of them, forced the shipbuilders to have it completed and added it to his fleet en route for Egypt. After Campoformio, the remaining vessels were destroyed by the French to avoid their capture by the Austrian Empire.

Design and history The class was conceived and began construction during the Seventh Ottoman-Venetian War, with the lead ship, Leon Trionfante, laid down on 7 March 1716 and being commissioned on 2 May of the same year. The ship was large for its armament: with a keel length of it rivalled the British 100-gun first-rate HMS Royal William, although with a width of , it was almost narrower than the Royal William.

Almost all the ships of this class were planned and started before 1739, completed to a 70%, then stored in the roofed shipbuilding docks of the Arsenal of Venice to be finished and launched when the Venetian Navy need them, a solution the British Royal Navy adopted only in 1810, when the docks at Chatham were covered.

This decision, mostly due to the chronic lack of funds of the Republic of Venice in its final years, led to retain in service older and inferior ships than the ones built at the same time for the British Royal Navy and the French Royal Navy. Moreover, contemporary third rates had heavier guns (32-pounders on the gun deck and 18-pounders on the upper gun deck), even if the armament of those ships could be brought up to 72-74 guns. Except for the Leon Trionfante and the Diligenza, none of this class' ships remained in service for more than fifteen years.

Ships NameDesignerBuilderLaid downLaunchedCommissionedDecommissionedFateReferenceLeon TrionfanteUnknownFrancesco De Ponti171416 May 1716 1716UnknownDismantled, 1740San GiacomoUnknownUnknown171929 April 1765UnknownUnknownDismantled, 1776

Buon Consiglio Ordered: 1719 Launched: 1761 Fate: Broken up, 1776

Fedeltà Ordered: 1719 Launched: 1769 Fate: Broken up, 1783

Forza Ordered: 1719 Launched: 1774 Fate: Wrecked, 1784

Corriera Veneta Ordered: 1722 Launched: 1770 Fate: Wrecked, 1771

Diligenza Ordered: 1724 Launched: 1774 Fate: Broken up, 1797

Fenice Ordered: 1723 Launched: 1779 Fate: Sunk, 1786

Galatea Ordered: 1722 Launched: 1779 Fate: Broken up, 1793

Vittoria Ordered: 1732 Launched: 1784 Fate: Broken up, 1797

La Guerriera Ordered: 1732 Launched: 1785 Fate: Burnt, 1785

Medea Ordered: 1732 Launched: 1793 Fate: Captured, 1797

Eolo Ordered: 1739 Launched: 1782 Fate: Captured, 1797

San Giorgio Ordered: 1736 Launched: 1785 Fate: Captured, 1797

See also Venetian Navy Arsenal of Venice List of sailing ships in Venetian Navy Venetian bombardments of the Beylik of Tunis (1784–88)

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