In fact, Rome managed to build up its forces enough to be superior to the French Navy. Key point: Rome wanted to restore the glory days of the old Roman Empire. One way to do that was by building a world-class group of warships. Italy’s Regia Marina was one of the busiest navies of the interwar period. Four old battleships were rebuilt so completely that they barely resembled their original configuration. This helped Italy achieve what was really, by the late 1930s, significant ship-to-ship superiority over the French Navy. The reconstruction of these ships helped generate ideas as to what their new battleships should look like. The new ships were to have enough speed to catch