Minerva was a torpedo cruiser of the Partenope class built for the Italian Regia Marina (Royal Navy) in the 1880s. The second of eight ships, Minerva was built by Gio. Ansaldo & C.; her keel was laid down in February 1889, she was launched in February 1892, and she was commissioned in August that year. Her main armament were her five torpedo tubes, which were supported by a battery of ten small-caliber guns. Minerva spent most of her career in the main Italian fleet, where she was primarily occupied with training exercises. She was converted into a minelayer in 1909–10. She did not see significant action during the Italo-Turkish War in 1911 or World War I in 1915–18, though she was used to lay defensive minefields during the latter conflict. The ship was sold for scrap in 1921.